A Winter at the Dweller Camp
by Drummerchick7
Summary: Our princess must winter with Albion's nomadic gypsies. A winter of harsh lessons awaits her. How will she fare?
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Okay, folks. So. This is perhaps **very** silly and stupid of me, but... Oh well. I don't even read this fandom. And it's a small fandom at that. But I started playing Fable III again, and my fucking brain wouldn't leave me alone. So I'm posting this. I may or may not finish it. If it becomes clear that I won't, then I'll delete it or something. But, for now, this is what I'll work on while I'm living with my in-laws and can't playing either Dragon Age or Mass Effect for "research."_  


_Let me know how you like it. I'm sure I won't even have a whole lot of readers, but whatevs. If you read it, leave me a review if you're so moved._

_Also, last thing. One, these characters aren't mine (well, that's not true. Diana is all my doing). Secondly, this will likely be my usual fare where there's smut eventually. After the romance. Romance-candy, yay!_

* * *

_**Dweller Camp**_

"I just don't understand why we have to winter _here_, Walter."

Walter smiled, shaking his head. "Get used to it, pup. You proved to them you meant what you said. Now they're letting you stay with them until the lower passes are passable. In the spring, we'll head out to gather more allies. Bloody useless of Logan to force your hand just as autumn was rolling into winter…"

She snorted laughter. "Alright, Walter. You know I'll do what's needed. And at least I can dress for function here, and not for fashion." Dax jumped up on her then, wagging his tail as he let out a happy bark.

"And Jasper can stop yelling at you for letting that dog dirty your nice things," Walter added, his smile indulgent. "Now, come on. We managed to collect enough gold to visit the wagon maker. Let's go get you a place for the winter, shall we?"

Running after him, she furrowed her brows at his phrasing. "Get _me_ a place for the winter? What will you do, Walter?"

The big man shrugged. "I've spent my fair share of cold nights in a tent on the hard ground. Give me a fire and I'll be fine."

She took his arm, stopping him. "Walter, I won't have it! If you're in a tent, _I'm_ in a tent! If I get one of these dweller wagons, then you're sharing it with me!"

"It would hardly be appropriate, My Lady-"

"Stop that nonsense right now." Honestly, what was he thinking? It was ridiculous. "You are hardly going to take advantage of me here. I trust you with my life, _and_ my maidenhood."

"My Lady," he huffed, his woolly eyebrows knitting together. "_You_ may trust me, but no one else here knows that I wouldn't do so."

"And if we _were_ bedding each other?" she challenged. He looked utterly aghast. And she couldn't blame him. The idea was entirely horrendous to her, as well. But it was a point she needed to make. "Would anyone care about that? I was old enough to marry Elliot-" here, her heart gave a painful twang at the thought of her dead fiancé, but she pushed on "-I'm old enough to bed anyone I so choose, am I not? In a place unconcerned with my royalty, would anyone _care_ if we _were_ sharing a bed?"

He considered her for a moment, but she held her ground. She was sure she looked somewhat like a petulant child, but oh well. Finally he nodded. "Right you are, My Lady. We shall share the wagon. Now come along – we can't share it if we don't buy it and put it somewhere we can use it, yes?"

Smiling, she fell into step beside him. He wasn't saying it, but she knew he was proud of her. He always liked it when she stood up for herself.

"Just one more thing," she said as they walked.

"What?"

"No more 'My Lady.' It doesn't feel right here. Just call me by my name, alright?"

He smiled, chuckling. "As you wish, Raven."

* * *

Later, once night had fallen, Raven was thanking the Lord above that they had spent most of their gold on this sturdy dwelling. It was mobile, but could easily be rooted in place. They had no beast of burden, which made moving it difficult – especially in the snow – but they hadn't needed to move it far, and Walter was _incredibly_ large and strong. Its best feature, however, was that it was shelter against the harsh mountain nights, and especially tonight's storm. There would be snow on the ground for days up here. Even during autumn it was cold enough that she needed to wear furs if the sun was not shining directly on her. Which was most of the time in this village, which was sheltered in the shadow of a mountain.

The wagon-maker had given them a steep discount for the Hero's help in getting food to the small village, allowing them to purchase a wagon intended for a family of four or more. This left them plenty of room for the three of them, and even allowed a small wood stove to be carted in. The wagon maker did a quick job on an opening for its chimney, and they were set by nightfall.

Now Raven sat on her bedroll, Dax rolled on his back and well on his way toward sleep. Walter knelt by the woodstove, stirring the contents of a small pot atop the small stove.

"Will you hurry up with that? I'm so hungry I could eat a hobbe," Raven complained, feeling her stomach confirm how hungry she'd gotten.

Walter just chuckled. "If you'd ever _seen_ a hobbe – or smelled one – you'd be singing a different tune," he answered. "Luckily, this is nearly done. Tomorrow, we can go about seeing how things are done in this village in regards to bread and the like, but for now all I have is the stew."

That was fine with the princess. She just wanted to eat. She had never in her life gone this long without food. And it hadn't even been all day.

She took to her bowl of stew with gusto, eating several bites as fast as its heat would allow her. Poor Dax would have to wait until the next day to eat, when he could dig through the scraps at the butcher's – Raven did privately know that she would at least let him lick the pot clean, however. The dog also wasn't used to going so long without food.

"So there is one skill you never learned, as a Lady of the kingdom," Walter ventured, letting his stew cool on its own before he dug in.

"What's that?" Raven asked between bites, at least reserving enough of her nearly inborn manners to not speak with her mouth full. All other bets were off, however.

"Hunting," he said, giving her a meaningful look. "Your mother, and then your brother, were fine with you learning a warrior's skills at the castle, but neither of them wanted you in danger out on the road. You're a decent shot with a rifle, especially now that you have your mother's special enchanted weapon. So I figure it's time for you to learn. Plus, it's important to pitch in and do your part for the survival of the entire village, if you're going to be staying here. You can't just live off the kindness of these people all winter."

She cocked her head to the side at him. "I suppose… And you keep telling me how fast I am. That ought to count for something." Who knew? Maybe she'd even be good at it. "I take it we'll be getting up early so you can start teaching me?"

"Oh, no. _I_ won't be teaching you. I'm far too old to be tromping around in the snow. _My_ job is to start training Sabine's people into actual fighters. They have a knack for explosives, but they don't know how to fight in the organized way that's needed against an army – hence why they needed your help getting Saker to calm the Hell down."

She knit her brows even as she served herself more stew. "So who will teach me, then?"

He eyed the princess shrewdly. "That girl you couldn't take your eyes off of? On the other side of Sabine from Boulder? That's his granddaughter, Diana. She's also his personal hunter, since he's too old to go out in the snow himself. _She'll_ be teaching you. And she's a tough nut, for sure. Not nearly as forgiving a teacher as I was. Brace yourself for some hard lessons, pup. She's going to put you through the grinder."

Raven thought back to a week before, when she had first stood talking with Sabine. She had tried very hard not to stare, and to keep her attention on what the spritely little man had been saying, but it had been difficult. For some reason, Raven was _captivated_.

She had dark hair, dusky brown skin, really rather plain-looking, to be honest. But she had this way of holding herself… like a queen among peasants. Everyone else in this village was poor, downtrodden, begging for money and food from a bunch of beggars. But this woman was proud, held her head high. Every aspect of her demeanor showed her strength, her unwillingness to bow down to those who would challenge her. And she was _supremely_ unimpressed with the royal princess before her, if Raven was any judge of the woman's scowl.

So Raven had set off almost in defiance, to prove this nameless woman wrong. This woman was not the only woman who could hold her head high, in Raven's opinion. She also needed Sabine's help, if for no other reason than she could only transport _herself_ to the Sanctuary, and so needed a place for the winter for herself and Walter. She wasn't sure yet that she could be the leader he needed her to be, but she could at least try. And the first step was securing him a damn place to sleep for the winter.

And if it required she spend time with that enigma of a huntress? There were worse fates.

"Alright. Get me up in time? I like making good first impressions."

He chuckled as he took her bowl, putting the stewpot on the floor of the wagon for the dog, making Raven smile. "Aye, I will." They settled in to sleep, the sounds of the dog's grateful eating dying away quickly. She fell asleep with the dog's gentle warmth pressed into her stomach, the familiar smell of his coat filling her nostrils as she dreamed. Of home, and simpler times.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wake up, Raven."

Raven merely groaned, holing a hand up to the candlelight cast upon her. "Jasper, go away. It's still dark."

"I'm not Jasper, pup. Get up now so I can go back to sleep," Walter said, shoving her shoulder until she lay on her back.

She groaned again. "But it's still dark…"

"Can't go hunting when it's light. You have to leave early enough to _get_ where the animals are in order to shoot them, pup. Now up. Go." Then his big hands were scooping her up as they had done when she was a child, and she was on her feet, cursing him. He threw her boots at her and then pointed at the door. "There'll be food waiting for you up by Sabine's wagon. Now out – I want to sleep."

Grumbling, she pulled her boots on, grabbing her furs and weapons and exiting into the pre-dawn gloom. It was freezing out here, with the paths covered in fresh snow, but even so Dax was happy to be out here with her. "Well, at least _you_ like me," she muttered, unable to hold back a smile. His enthusiasm was just infectious.

Trudging up the hill, stamping the stiffness out of her legs, she found the gate to Sabine's mini-encamptment already open. Perhaps he only had it closed when strangers came into town? Walking through the untouched snow, she made her way toward Sabine's wagon, knowing no better place to go. There wasn't anybody out here yet.

"Where are you going?"

Raven turned swiftly at the voice, uttered just loudly enough for the princess to hear. Emerging out of the shadows behind her she found the girl – Diana – with whom she would be spending the morning. It was the first time Raven heard her voice, and she found she rather liked it. It was gruff, as if the huntress was unused to using it, yet still feminine and melodic.

Raven curtseyed, immediately feeling ridiculous doing so in fur trousers in the snow. "I am the Princess Raven-"

"I know who you are," the woman cut her off. "Just as you know who I am – Diana, granddaughter to Sabine. That wasn't my question. I asked you where you were going."

"Um… I was looking for _you_, actually," she answered truthfully. "I didn't see anyone out here, and Walter mentioned you share Sabine's wagon…"

"I do, but I've been up for nearly an hour. Waiting." She was silent a moment befor adding, "For you."

Raven's temper got the best of her almost immediately. "No one told me I should be here any earlier than now," she retorted hotly. "It's before dawn – who in their right mind gets up any earlier, anyway?!"

The other woman merely blinked a few times, slowly, before saying anything. "On time is late and early is on time. As far as first impressions go… you have not made a good one. Now come," she said, turning and walking away toward the entrance to the gated village.

Feeling chastised, Raven ran after her, knowing at least enough to follow the woman's steps exactly in order to conserve her strength. No need to trudge through the snow unnecessarily. "I, uh… well, perhaps this is impertinent of me, but Walter mentioned there would be food…"

"I have already broken my fast," the woman said sharply.

"Well, I have not," Raven tossed back, trying very hard not to shout. This woman was going to _sorely_ test her temper, she could tell. "We have no food as of yet. Walter said I would be able to eat up at your wagon."

Diana was silent for a moment, merely walking and fiddling with her belt. Just as Raven was thinking of saying something – _reminding_ her that she had not eaten – the huntress turned abruptly and shoved a small bundle into Raven's gut. "Eat this. Tomorrow you will have your own food. Do not expect to have any of mine again."

Then she was walking once more. Rolling her eyes, Raven hurriedly followed, even as she opened the sack to find dried fruit and nuts, as well as some jerked fish. Her stomach rumbling, she began to eat as she walked, trailing a few nuts and fish in the snow for the poor, hungry Dax following in her wake.

* * *

"You are not patient."

Raven furrowed her brow in frustration. "I've been sitting here for hours," she whispered harshly. "I'm bloody freezing, and I'm pretty sure my trousers will never dry."

"And if you are not patient despite that, then you will not get a kill. If you do not get a kill, you will not _eat_," Diana replied, just as harshly. "It is as though you have never hunted before."

"I haven't," Raven grumped, looking away from the opening to the blind and frowning at the huntress. "This is my first lesson."

"What do you mean, you have never hunted? Is that not the first step to becoming a proven warrior such as yourself?"

Raven scoffed. "Bashing bandits about the head does not take nearly this much patience. I learned to fight in a castle, against my guards. Walter taught me. He is now teaching your people, as well."

"But he did not take you hunting?" Diana demanded.

There it was, Raven's self-righteous anger. "No, he did not!" she replied hotly, losing the war with her volume for a moment. Biting her tongue momentarily, she continued at a harsh whisper. "Little princesses do not learn how to hunt. They are not allowed out of the castle with a weapon, and they are certainly not taken out into the woods, at the mercy of brigands and bandits, who might hold her for ransom or take her maidenhood." She paused, huffing indignantly. "They are kept inside like pets, to be paraded around in pretty dresses. And later, their brothers behead their intended groom because she dared question how he treated the leaders of a riot."

It hurt. It hurt so badly. Not because she truly loved Elliot the way he clearly had loved her, but because he knew it and asked her to choose him anyway. He was so _good_. She should have chosen him to live, not to die. His purity was less stained than those damn peasants with their dirty clothes and their filthy words about her family. She wished now that she had chosen differently.

But a voice insisted that she had chosen correctly, given her impossible choice. Those peasants were just as innocent of wrong-doing as Elliot, and they did not deserve the death Logan would have given them. And choosing them for death would _not_ have ingratiated her with her people.

Logan was the true enemy. And he would _pay_ for what he had done.

It took the guilt away from the tiny voice inside of her that kept being relieved that she no longer had to either marry Elliot or break his heart.

That voice made her feel like a monster.

Her little speech, though, seemed to have swayed Diana, and after hours of only harsh judgments, the huntress's expression now showed sympathy. It was only there for a moment, but it was unmistakable.

"Come. We will fish instead. I assumed you at least knew how to hunt in the lowlands. This is not a good first lesson for someone who has never shot game with her rifle."

"But… what about eating for the winter?"

Now Diana was walking again, and Raven was following in her footsteps once more. "Game in the mountains is difficult to come by. One must be patient, and even then it takes more skill than you possess as a novice. You will accompany me on hunts, but you will not be expected to hunt yourself for the winter. You will be quiet, and you will watch me. And you will train your dog as our trainers do. I will teach you to fish, and this is what will feed you during the coldest months."

Raven frowned. "I have skill with a rifle. I have made kills. Why do you treat me like I possess none?"

The other woman actually stopped, turning to observe Raven for a moment. "It is not an insult. If you have never been taught, than how can you be expected to simply _know_?"

"It sure _feels_ like an insult," Raven huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. _Just like a petulant child…_ "It feels patronizing as all Hell."

The woman blinked a few times in confusion. "That is a strange way to think. You need to leave it behind in order to survive here."

Now it was Raven's turn to blink in confusion. "A strange way… to _think_? What does that even _mean_?"

"It means that you cannot get better at something if you cannot take the truth about your current skill level. You are a princess; people do not criticize you. Here, they do. It means nothing more than that you have room to improve. It is not a… judge against your character as a _person_. _That_ cannot be judged by the skills you have, but by the actions you take. And so far, princess… you have done only good for our village." She turned back around and began walking once more. "And in return, I teach you."

Raven wasn't allowed some witty retort. Diana strode away so quickly that Raven could only bound after her, forced to think about the words Diana had given her.

Dax barked happily in the background, somehow knowing the time to be quiet was done.

* * *

They stopped at the main camp to grab a midday meal, and for Diana to speak with her animated grandfather. The Dwellers had their own language of sorts, a kind of mix between the common tongue that Raven – and the rest of Albion – spoke, and the ancient language of the hill peoples of old. This meant that Raven really didn't get a lot of what they spoke about, but in the end Sabine was agreeing to _something_, and then Raven was being led away. They were allowed a midday meal, to which Raven took with gusto, and then Diana was leading her away from the village again.

A half hour later, she was sweating under her furs as they hiked up a steep slope that seemed to never end. "Where are we _going_?" she asked incredulously, after a half hour of near-silence.

"All but the deepest lakes freeze in the winter. We are going to one that does not."

That was all she got. They merely continued on in silence, Dax darting around them. For a dog that had hardly eaten anything since the day before, he had a remarkable amount of energy. Raven had been worried about his paws at first, tromping around in this snow all day, but the dog breeders of the tribe have given her a kind of wax for his feet and fur that she had to apply every few days. It seemed to be doing the trick, as she had checked his paws several times and had not had to clear away ice or snow, and he showed no sign of frostbite.

Finally, after another ten minutes of trudging up the mountain, they reached the summit. It was absolutely beautiful up here. Raven took a moment to take in the view, breathing in deeply as she looked out upon the pine trees. They were gorgeous, draped in snow, the snow untouched for miles around.

"Come."

Diana's voice snapped Raven back to reality, and with a grumbled oath she looked down to where the huntress was headed. Now that she looked, they seemed to be on the rim of a giant bowl, as if the top of the mountain had been scooped out somehow. She had read of formations like this.

"We're in a dormant volcano?" she breathed in wonder, taking in the landscape with new eyes.

"What?"

"You… you really don't know? Look at how the land lies! This was formed by a volcano, more years ago than we can count, likely. Let me guess – there is a deep lake at the bottom of this bowl we're in?"

Diana was stopped now, looking back up at her almost skeptically. "Yes, there is… How do you know that without seeing it?"

Raven knit her brows. "I read about it, of course. There are lots of these old volcanoes in these mountains. There are also hot springs and geysers. It's really fascinating, but I've never gotten to see one up close. This is _astounding_…"

"Yes, well… come along. We have work to do if we are to catch any fish this day, with the late start we have."

The descent took fifteen minutes. Immediately upon reaching the shore, they ventured out onto the ice.

"It is important to test each step while the ice is still forming," Diana said as they walked. "It is still warm enough that the ice is thin in some places. This is especially important for you, as you are taller and bulkier than most of my people. But we also need the thin places – this is where we will find the fish." A few more minutes of carefully negotiating the ice had them at a curious divot.

"Diana? What is that?"

The huntress smiled, the first time Raven had ever seen the expression on the woman's face. "This is where we fish. There are several holes like this that must be maintained throughout the winter. Each day you will fish at a new one, maintaining each, making sure the ice does not overtake them to the point that they cannot be used." She paused as she slung her pack off her back, rummaging for something within. "We cut through the ice, remove what we can, then run the lines into the water. I will do so today, but tomorrow…"

* * *

They returned to the camp well after sundown, but laden with fish. For whatever reason, it seemed to be something to which Raven was well-suited. Perhaps because it didn't require sitting still in the snow. Or perhaps because Dax could run around the ice to his heart's content. Or perhaps it was because she _herself_ had some freedom of movement, as you couldn't scare the fish through a layer of ice that was thick enough to hold a person upon it.

Whatever the reason, it felt _good_ to have a knack for something, and it was with a beaming smile upon her face that she presented her haul to Walter. He had congratulated her, apparently having been informed of the change of plans regarding hunting, and they ate a plentiful meal of fish stew that evening, bartering some of the fish for hard biscuits from another Dweller.

She went to bed that evening full to bursting, tired, sore, and ready to sleep for an entire day. The rest of the fish were set out to be dried at the large, communal fire set aside for such things. Walter told her about his day, but she struggled to stay awake, and after only a few minutes, he bid her goodnight with a chuckle.

She fell asleep to dreams of a single, beautiful smile she had been unable to get out of her head.


	3. Chapter 3

Watching Diana hunt, as it turned out, was even more boring than trying to hunt herself. It left Raven with a whole hell of a lot of time to _think_. She thought of Elliot, of her brother, of the riot that had pitted her against her brother. She thought of her mother, the Hero who had risen from the poorest of the poor to rule the kingdom of Albion, and who had taught her to be her own woman. She thought of Walter, of Jasper, of all the others she'd known as she'd grown up.

The hunt itself was somewhat distracting, at least. The first day, after hours of waiting silently while Raven thought incessantly about all her failures, they actually made a kill. Raven was not allowed to try to shoot it, merely watching. Afterward, she was asked all manner of details she couldn't remember. _Where was the rifle aimed? Did I shoot on the in or out breath? Was I squatting, kneeling, or sitting on both knees? How long did it take the deer to die? How close to us had it been _(**not** how far away was it when it died)_?_ So many questions Raven did not have the answer for! It was frustrating.

But true to Diana's proclamation from the day before about criticisms, the huntress merely nodded, cautioning Raven to answer better, to remember more, at their next successful hunt before leaving the blind they had constructed and trudging through the untouched snow to the buck. "We'll have to tie it to a bough, carry it between us."

Raven merely furrowed her brows. "Why?"

Diana looked confused for a moment. "I cannot carry a full-grown buck _and_ my pack myself. The only reason I shot it is because you are here to help."

Raven smirked. "_I_ can carry it by myself," she said confidently.

Diana eyed her for a moment before nodding. "Very well. Give me your pack – it is a burden I can handle – and we shall get moving. You still must learn how to gut and skin the animal."

At first, the weight of the buck wasn't terribly difficult for the princess to handle. She was taller than Diana – she was taller than all of the Dwellers – and she was bulkier, as well. Her body had been honed by the last month of running and walking and fighting through the countryside with Walter to get here. She was strong. But that strength only lasted half the walk back to the settlement. After that, Raven began to struggle. Each step made it feel as though her boots were laden with lead. Her arms struggled to keep the unwieldy limbs of the dead animal positioned correctly, its head bobbing on her back with every step, its antlers poking the back of her thigh repeatedly. It was all getting to be so very painful.

Yet she refused to give in. She had said she could do it, and by God, she would do it, even if it killed her. Luckily, Diana had been kind and had them hunting at one of her spots closer to the Dweller camp than other spots. It was with great relief that the settlement's gate came into view.

Her legs finally gave out with a sharp, stabbing pain just as she passed over the threshold of the gate. "Shit!" she yelled, the buck rolling off her back and into the snow as her knees and hands hit the snow. The stabbing pain was worse until the animal was off of her, excruciating in its intensity.

"You are injured," Diana announced, the slightest hint of alarm in her voice. Really, Raven could have just imagined the alarm...

"I'm sure I just… overestimated my strength, is all," Raven muttered, embarrassed to have so many people gathering around them. She tried to push herself to her feet, but her left leg refused to hold her weight, and the only thing that kept her from falling again was Diana catching her.

"You are bleeding and you cannot stand on two legs. Come. I will look at it."

With no better options, Raven could only hobble with Diana's support toward hers and Walter's wagon, which was closer.

* * *

Lying on her stomach on her bedroll, Raven could do little but let the huntress strip off her trousers and examine her leg.

"The buck's antler tore through your trousers and into your leg. This will take weeks to heal." A pause as fingers gently – but still painfully – probed the wound. "Nothing broke off inside, however." Another pause, then, "Why did you not tell me it was hurting you? Injuries are no laughing matter in these mountains."

Raven turned over partway, her defiant temper rising within her. "Because I could handle the burden! I… I am not _weak_. I can take a little pain. Any warrior can."

Diana merely regarded her for a moment. "You place value on the strangest things. You put hidden meanings in words and actions that are not there to begin with. I would not think you weak if you could not carry the buck home. _I_ cannot carry the buck home, and I am not weak. And had you admitted such, you would not be injured now. This… _pride_ that you carry only serves to harm you, and therefore everyone else. Now you cannot hunt, or fish, and someone will need to gather food for you until you are healed. You are now a burden on the village, just as winter is settling in. All because of this pride you carry that we do not have room for."

Raven scowled. "I'm sorry," she said hotly, not sorry at all. "I was merely trying to pull my weight, as that seems to be all you care about."

"And I am trying to teach you what it is to live among the Dwellers. You would do well to leave behind as much as you can, to empty your cup as much as possible, and _listen_. Let me fill your cup with the knowledge of how to survive." Raven opened her mouth to challenge the woman again, but Diana merely shoved her shoulder, forcing her back to the ground. "Do not speak. Instead, think on what I have said. I shall dress your wound and bring you supper. I shall then go to your fishing hole and attend to it."

Raven almost literally bit her tongue to follow that particular directive. Angry and embarrassed as she was, she knew Diana was right, though she refused to admit it aloud right now. She had unknowingly made a stupid mistake. But the huntress was not calling her an imbecile. Diana was merely trying to show Raven the ways in which life was different, harsher, up here in the mountains. She had injured herself by pushing herself too far, and now she would be a burden to everyone. She knew she could will it and show up in the Sanctuary, where she had potions that would magically restore her health, but she decided not to tell Diana that. Not just yet.

Insufferable as the woman was, her presence was also… soothing. Her touch was sure, gentle but firm at the same time. Her hands were warm, her skin slightly rough but… well, it all felt _good_. Raven didn't want the other woman to leave. But the time eventually came, and Diana left Raven with some dried fish, promising to send Walter with a true meal later in the day. Then she was gone, off to check the fishing hole and generally to make up for Raven's blunder.

She felt like an utter ass.

* * *

"Ah, hello, My Lady. What have you-" Jasper paused in the middle of his sentence, taking in Raven's odd, partially undressed state. "Should I… go elsewhere?"

"I'm injured, Jasper. It's a puncture wound. It'll take _weeks_ to heal on its own, and I can't walk properly until it does. I need a potion or something to heal me more quickly."

"Ah, I see…" He went to her side, helping her to a chair along the far wall. "I haven't had a chance to examine any of these potions, and there aren't that many. I am afraid you'll have to wait while I see what each does, and how much to administer. Has the wound at least been cleaned and dressed?"

Raven nodded. "Diana bullied me into my wagon and cleaned it. She also thoroughly berated me for getting injured in the first place. I know she's right, but what else was I supposed to do?! _She_ couldn't carry that stag! I had to get it back to the camp, show Walter what I could do. I also desperately wanted to _eat_ the damn thing. But all she had to say was that I endangered her people…"

"It sounds," Jasper said, coming to her side with a mug and a tincture, "like perhaps your reasons for carrying the stag back on your own weren't _entirely_ about the people…"

Raven furrowed her brows. "Well, why should they be? I take pride in what I can do."

"Does Diana take pride in what she does?"

The question took Raven completely off-guard. "I… what?"

Taking the dropper from the tincture, Jasper let three drops of the bright red liquid fall into the mug, which contained water. "Has Diana ever exhibited any pride in what she does? It sounds as though she merely does what must be done, and any pride or joy she takes is in what she has done for her people, or her grandfather, rather than in the task itself."

"But… but who doesn't take pride in the things they can do?"

"Someone who has lived under the yoke of poverty and is struggling merely to survive, my princess." He held the mug up to her, offering it by its handle. "Drink this. It will speed the healing of the wound. You will be stiff tomorrow, but by the next day, you should show no signs of injury, according to your mother's most detailed instructions. Now, go back and get some rest. They will wonder where you have been if you stay here much longer. And, my lady?"

"Hmm?"

"Think on what I said, my lady. This world is very different from the one you left. Their politics are different, their customs, their very way of surviving. Your goal here is to learn as much as you can from them. Listen to this woman. She is clearly successful at surviving here."

Raven merely scowled more, but nodded. She valued Jasper's opinion. When she was queen – as frightening as that prospect was – he would be one of her most trusted advisors. If she couldn't listen to him now for her pride, then what hope did she have when she replaced her brother on the throne?

Closing her eyes to concentrate, she pictured her bed at the Dweller camp. A gentle pull behind her navel followed, and then suddenly she felt the furs of her bedcovers under her hands. Willing the energy to undress fully, she crawled under the covers, closed her eyes, and immediately fell asleep, the sharp, bitter aftertaste of the healing potion coating the back of her tongue.

* * *

The next morning, Raven awoke with the sun shining. Alarmed, she sat up, startling Dax out of sleep. "Walter?"

The big man was gone. She had briefly woken when he had come inside the night before, but hadn't even roused for the meal he had made. Now, she saw that the leftovers had been placed on the stove for her. Moving to the stove's side, she noted with some relief that what Jasper had said about her leg seemed to be true: it was stiff, but felt much better, and the only external sign of the wound was a small scab and an intense bruise.

Not bothering with a bowl, Raven ate half of the pot's contents before placing it on the floor for Dax. She then found her fur trousers, which someone had mended for her, and hobbled out of her wagon to relieve herself. She then decided to go for a walk, per Jasper's instruction. Perhaps she'd even find Walter?

She wandered all around the camp like she had the first day, though this time her presence was not scorned nearly as much. People greeted her as Hero, giving Dax a pat on the head and even, in some cases, a scrap of food. Her intervention with the local band of bandits had allowed them to hunt again, and Walter's training of their people gave them the opportunity to defend themselves in the future. They were now a grateful people who had a chance of survival once more. And despite Diana's seemingly cool treatment of Raven, the rest of them actually seemed rather… happy to have her around.

After an hour of wandering and chatting, she found Walter. He had cleared out a section of hard ground and was now leading men and women in exercises. They were in the mud, unfortunately, but there was nothing to be done for it as the snow from the storm had melted. At least this mud was mixed with dead grasses and lots of small - and larger - stones. That at least made it less likely to suck at one's boots.

Raven merely sat on a fence post for a time, watching Walter. It brought back fond memories, of wailing away at him, her mother, and her brother with a small wooden sword, and of the first time she beat one of her guards hand-to-hand. It also reminded her of the first time she beat Walter, the fateful day they left the castle. She had shorn his blade sheer in two, a feat of strength she had not thought possible. He'd had a glimmer of recognition in his eye, however, and it had become clear that night, when they actually escaped, that she was a Hero, and _that_ suddenly explained every odd thing that had _ever_ happened. Like the time she set Logan's hair on fire with a single spark (sparks did not suddenly set one's whole head aflame), or the time Dax had jumped an impossible distance at her behest. Now she had the gauntlets, which helped channel her power. They also itched and chafed, and she couldn't wait to take them off at night.

Of course, all of her was like that these days. If only she could take a bath…

"Pup!" Walter's exclamation pulled her from her thoughts.

She smiled as he strode over, his students scattering for a meal. "How goes the training, Walter?"

He smiled, coming over to her as he sheathed his sword. "These are better than the usual raw recruits I get. They know how to hunt, they're capable, they just don't know how to fight in an organized way. And most have never used a sword, only hunting knives and the like. It's so difficult to live up here that they actually haven't had to defend themselves against fighting men until Saker's band took up residence here."

"Well that's good, I suppose. Raw recruits would take far longer than the winter to train."

He nodded. "Yes. These fine men and women should be good to go once spring comes. Especially now they've got a little more food to go around. Can't build muscle or maintain fighting stamina if you aren't eating enough."

"I agree. And thank you, by the way, for setting the stew to warm this morning."

He smiled, clapping his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Raven. How's your leg?"

"I went to Jasper last night, and he gave me one of Mother's special healing potions. It's already much better. He said I should be in fighting shape by tomorrow morning."

"That fast? I'll be damned. That should come in handy."

Raven snorted. "I'd rather not be injured in the first place, Sir Walter."

"None of that. If I'm to call you Raven, you're to call me Walter. No sneaking my title in there."

Grinning, she nodded. As she opened her mouth to say something, however, her attention was diverted by something seen out the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she saw Diana walking toward Sabine's wagon, her belt hanging with a few trapped rabbits. Just as Raven turned fully toward the other woman, Diana noticed her, tilting her head to the side with a look of utter confusion on her face.

"I'll, uh… leave you to explain why you're not resting, pup," Walter murmured, disappearing from her side rather quickly for a man of his size. Diana replaced him rather quickly, too, though that was _not_ surprising – the girl could _move_.

"What are you doing up? And out here? You will not heal if you do not rest."

Raven held up her hands conciliatorily. "Calm down, I'm fine. I… well, it's hard to explain, but there's a… a _place_ I can go, and… damn, this is complicated. Look, I have access to healing potions in a place only I can get to, and after you so kindly put me to bed yesterday afternoon, I went there and took care of things." Scrubbing a hand over her braid – which really needed to be redone, as more than half had escaped its binds – she continued. "I didn't want to sit out for weeks waiting to heal, sapping off these poor people, and not learning anything further about surviving here."

Diana stood quietly for a moment. "So you really are a Hero? You really do have magic?" Her voice was quiet, like she dared not speak any louder.

"Aye, I do. Would you like to see?"

Not waiting for an answer, Raven snapped her finger. The next moment, she held a fireball just above her palm. Looking up, she saw the fire reflected in Diana's deep brown eyes for a moment. Then Diana blinked, turned, and began walking back to Sabine's wagon again.

"That will be very useful when we venture further to hunt and cannot make it back by nightfall."

Letting the fire fade, Raven limped after the girl. "That's it?"

"What else would you have me say?"

Raven furrowed her brow. It was difficult to keep up with the huntress with her leg still stiff and sore. "Something about being glad I won't actually be out for weeks, perhaps?"

Stopping, Diana turned to face Raven once more. "Is this how it is in the lowlands? Constantly seeking approval? Being proud of simple, not-accomplishments? Your magic does not impress me by itself, but its usefulness does. Your ability to fish is fine, but it is only fishing. It is the beginning, what we teach children. It is good that you can do it, but it is nothing to be proud of. There is no room for pride here. There is only what you can do for the people, and the ways you _take_ from the people." Holding up a hand to cut off Raven's retort, she continued. "I am _glad_ that you will be able to continue with me tomorrow. However, I fear the shortened recovery time may detract from this lesson about your pride you clearly need to learn. There is no room for pride and embarrassment in the mountains. There is only survival."

With that she turned and continued up the hill toward her grandfather. Frowning, muttering darkly about the insufferable woman, Raven, too, turned and stalked back to hers and Walter's wagon. It was time for the midday meal, anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

As the weeks went by, things got better. Raven got used to shutting her mouth and just listening to what Diana said. She got better at not inferring something from Diana's tone that wasn't there. And she got better at sitting or walking quietly while they hunted. She began to be able to get herself up in the morning without Walter's help, to go out and fish until midmorning, come back to camp, then join Diana for an afternoon-into-evening hunt. She and Walter had more food with which to barter for bread and preserved vegetables and fruits, thus supplementing her steady diet of wild game and fish. They did not always come back with a kill, but they came back with enough that they even had adequate surplus to simply share, without even using it for barter. Diana was most pleased with this.

It was good to see smiles on the faces of children and their mothers, who before had been hungry and begging her for anything she could spare. Hopefully, come spring, they would even be able to work on giving those children fat little tummies, as any child should have.

Walter's training was coming along, as well. The villagers who volunteered to be trained would split their time with him and tending to their own tasks, like hunting, fishing, and the like. The village had a few craftsmen – a baker, a seamstress, a dog breeder and trainer – who practiced their trade in exchange for hunted game from the others, and even these craftsmen came during the slower hours of their days to learn how to defend themselves. One of the things Brightwall had shared with the Dwellers had been weapons, and they now had a village properly armed and learning how to defend itself.

Bandits should never, ever be a problem again.

One day, however, Diana varied their routine. Instead of waiting for Raven at the gate into the Dweller settlement, she was standing at the small firepit Walter and Raven had made outside their wagon.

"Is something amiss?" Raven asked, immediately alert. A change like this could easily mean something had happened to Sabine, or that someone had been attacked. She quickly made sure that, in addition to her fishing gear and rifle, she had her pistol on her belt and her sword's hilt easily-accessible on her back.

"Nothing is amiss, Raven," Diana said simply. She held up an empty sack. "It is time to go further, to go out into the winter's cold and put your survival skills to the test. We will be away for several nights. You will want this larger pack for your bedroll and at least a pound of your dried game and fish."

"This… this is good? This means I'm progressing well?"

Diana actually smiled, the second time Raven had ever seen it appear. And it was there just as briefly as the first time. "Yes," she said with a nod. "You are doing well. So it is time to teach you more."

Reining in her excitement, Raven nodded, taking the pack and disappearing inside her wagon once more. As quietly as possible, so as not to wake Walter, she packed the necessary items, adding a little more food so that she had enough to give to Dax if she needed to. She knew enough to know that they would try their best to survive off the game they found while out, but no sane person travelled without a backup stash of food for emergencies unless they absolutely didn't have any to take.

Transferring all her other equipment into the larger backpack, she fastened it shut, closed the oilskin flap to keep any rain or snow out, and re-emerged into the pre-dawn gloom. "Should I wake Walter and tell him?"

Diana shook her head. "Let him sleep. Grandfather will tell him later, when you don't return like you usually do."

They set off at a slow but steady pace. The goal, Raven learned, was to hike for a day, sleep there overnight, and then spend the next day exploring the region. Other hunters were setting off in other directions on similar trips. The idea was that if they did too much hunting near the camp, the animals would stop coming around. The days-long trip was partly to seek out new game farther away, partly to give the population of animals nearby the Dweller camp a rest, and partly to spread their efforts out over a larger region, making it not so obvious to game where the hunting was centered so they would not avoid the Dwellers.

It made sense to Raven, though by the time an hour or two had gone by, she was rather sick of wading through the snow. She was stronger now, and she had bartered with the seamstress for waterproof trousers and boots, which made a _huge_ difference in her comfort level, but still it was no easy thing to hike in fresh snow. Not long after their mostly-silent midday meal, however, they were under the tree line, which made the going much easier.

They camped at sunset near an ice-cold – and yet still flowing – river. The fish were out in force, lured to the surface by the flashes of sunlight reflected there. Without even being asked, Raven left Diana to set up campe to go see if she could manage to catch some of those fish. After an entire day on the trail, eating dried meats and fruits, the thought of fresh fish roasted over an open flame set her mouth watering. She had even thought to grab a box of spices, and as she fed the fishing line into the water, she could almost smell the meat roasting.

She didn't have a whole lot of luck, however – river fishing was different from ice fishing, and she had a hard time dealing with the current of the water. After half an hour of frustration, Diana joined her, silently withdrawing her own pole and doing an odd dance with it. The huntress began dangling the line over her finger, hopping from rock to rock down the middle of a side stream. At certain rocks, she would drop the line briefly.

Raven thought the huntress mad until the damn woman pulled up a fat fish, wriggling and struggling against the hook now embedded in its jaw.

The trick, apparently, was to check the shadows of large rocks to see if it was surrounded by a slightly slower-moving pool of water. In here, the fat, lazy fish would wait for bugs to get caught in the slower current, then snatch them up. Thinking the hook one such bug, they bit, providing Diana and Raven with their supper.

It was a tricky thing to get the hang of, especially because Raven was not quite as light on her feet as Diana, but eventually she caught a fish, and between them they had enough to feed themselves and Dax for the night, and morning, too, if they supplemented with their food stores.

As she fell asleep that night, Raven realized that they had gone the day through with barely any speaking, only a few whispered instructions about the fish having been spoken since they had stopped for a quick midday meal. It was odd to her. She had lived a life of political intrigue, of charming everyone she could see, fighting and laughing, music and singing and dancing. She had never known silence could become so familiar to her that she would not even think to engage in chitchat over a meal. The movements were well rehearsed, and they both had their part in preparing their camp for the next morning. And it was oddly comforting, to not need to do anything but get herself ready for later. And the silent, stoic presence of her teacher… that was comforting, as well. With Diana here, there was no way she would go hungry or lose her way.

* * *

Raven awoke to a hand pushing over her mouth and a weight pressing into her body. Trying to yell, scream, move… none of it worked. It merely got her a man's gruff laugh in her ear, his foul breath assaulting her nose.

"A couple of Dweller huntresses, eh? Who knew we'd happen upon girls out here, running from the king's justice. It's been a while since we've seen a woman, love. This ought to be fun."

His free hand began pawing at her, obviously looking for a way to access her nether region (thankfully, on the road, she did not disrobe down to only her undergarments like she did back at the village). In doing so, the hand over her mouth slipped, allowing her to turn her head. To her right lay Diana, two men hovering over her as she struggled mightily against a third. Suddenly rearing back, the man atop Diana struck her hard across the face with a fist, snapping her head back and to the ground.

Raven saw red for a moment, her temper, ever-so willing to rise when she was embarrassed, now fully formed into downright _anger_. Getting a hand free, she pushed against the chest of the man atop her, calling on the magic her mother had gifted her with. She might not be wearing the gauntlets, but her anger was a good enough center for her will, and with a shout of fury, she pushed him off of her with a concentrated wave of force. He flew up and away, allowing her to her feet, her sword in her hand without her even thinking of where to find it.

The first man hovering over Diana died with her blade in his back. The second died when a small fireball caught him right in the face, as he turned to see what the commotion was. The final man, literally caught with his pants down as he tried to pull his sword, still atop the dazed and bleeding huntress, died the most spectacularly. Taking a running leap, she batted his sword aside. Landing on his shoulders, Raven gripped his face between her knees and yanked. He died with a gargle, falling limp to the ground with a broken neck.

Raven rolled and found her feet, turning to find the man who had tried to take her maidenhood now running away. _I suppose he's not nearly as stupid as he seemed_, she thought with a smirk. Running toward her pack, the butt of her pistol sticking up from where she had stashed the holster the evening before, dropped to one knee, aimed, and shot.

The fourth and final man died in a spray of blood and bone, her bullet having hit him in the back of his head.

Breathing heavily now, Raven stood and turned, dropping her pistol on her backpack and moving immediately to Diana's side. "Diana! Are you alright?"

"My leg is broken, but I will live," she affirmed. "But one of them got ahold of Dax. I do not know where he is, but he let out the most pitiful of noises before his tormentor returned. Find him quickly, Raven. He needs help."

Raven was on her feet again immediately, casting around in the now pre-dawn gloom looking for her black-and-white dog in the grey light. "Dax!" she called, pulling her sword just in case.

A whimper. Running in its direction, she found the dog had half-dragged himself out of the icy river. "Dax!" The relief was short-lived. He was half-drowned, and he screamed bloody murder when she grabbed his front paw.

"What did they do to you, boy?" she breathed, feeling tears of absolute rage in her eyes. They touched her _baby_. If she could kill them all over again, she would do so in a heartbeat – and make it far more painful. Scooping the dog up, she gingerly carried him back over to their campsite, placing him carefully on her bedroll.

Straightening, she took in the whole campsite. Their firepit still had coals, though barely. Diana sat with her leg out in front of her, probing it and wincing. Dax held his paw awkwardly, protectively, licking it and whimpering every few seconds. Their attackers still lay where they had been killed, mostly littered around Diana. They had little food, no beast of burden, and were a day's march away from home – healthy. Injured? It would take twice as long.

She started with the fire. Stirring the coals, she threw some wood on them, pulling her gauntlets on before coaxing the flames to life with a gentle blast of flames from her palm. Then she picked up one of the dead men, slinging him over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Diana asked, watching her work from her bedroll.

"The dead bring festering. You and Dax are both injured. If I can't bury them, I must at least put some distance between them and us."

Diana merely stared without expression as Raven worked. It wasn't difficult work – she could carry a full-grown stag, after all, and she had only become stronger since. As she dropped each body in the river, she searched them, coming away with a little gold, their coats, and their belts. Their weapons were of shoddy quality, so she did not bother with them, letting the river carry the dead men away. They would be bloated and generally disgusting when they were forced ashore elsewhere, but the "elsewhere" was all that concerned her.

She took the gold for obvious reasons. She took the belts and coats because she had vague plans for making a travois, the kind one might drag behind a horse. The belts and coats would be very useful in its making. If those men had horses nearby, she might just get down on her knees and thank God wherever she was standing.

She took her loot back to camp before taking their two pots and filling them with water. Whatever she did, she knew she'd need heated water for it. Setting them over the fire, she finally went to Diana's side.

"Let me look at it," she said, kneeling at the huntress's side.

"It is broken, there is nothing you can do," Diana countered.

"Nevertheless, you need to let me look. I need to know what you're capable of, and I need to set it if it's needed."

Reluctantly, Diana allowed Raven to strip off her boots. Reaching for her trousers, Raven noted that the girl's pants were torn at the fastening, the man attempting to take her clearly too impatient to take the time to properly undo them. Either that, or Diana would not let him. Suddenly, the reason for Diana's reluctance dawned on the princess.

Stopping, she shifted sympathetic eyes to the huntress. "I am sorry. I forgot… you would not want to be undressed so soon after…"

"It is fine," Diana said with a frown. "You are correct. It must be done. My discomfort is unimportant."

"Your discomfort is _not_ unimportant," Raven spat, reaching out and tilting the other woman's chin up so their gazes met. "With me, at least, it is important. I, too, would be uncomfortable. He nearly raped you. That is not nothing. I'm sorry that this is required in order to care for you."

The other woman's hard expression actually softened, the lines around her eyes disappearing. It made her look remarkably young. And it made Raven's heart melt a little, for reasons unknown. "It is alright, Raven. I understand that this is necessary. But… I appreciate your concern, your sensitivity."

Smiling, Raven nodded, continuing about her task with noticeably less discomfort on Diana's part.

The leg, as Diana had told her, was broken. But it did not need resetting. She had apparently struggled so hard that, in holding her legs down, one of the men had inadvertently broken it midway up her thigh. Letting Diana re-dress herself, she found a thick, sturdy bough and secured it to the woman's leg with two of the men's belts.

"Thank you," Diana murmured. Raven was stunned. This woman had never, ever treated her this way. But she didn't dare actually say anything to that effect, merely nodding and smiling as she moved on to Dax.

The dog's injury was worse, and she could do nothing for it except let him favor it. Her first duty after was to get him warm, however, so she moved him closer to the fire. She then took one of the men's filthy coats and gave him a gentle rub-down to dry him faster, avoiding his injured paw. He seemed in a constant struggle to obey both his instinct, which told him to go curl up alone somewhere in a den and lick his wounds, and his need to please his master, who wanted him to stay here out in the open. Wrapping him in another of the coats, this one dry, she patted his head and let him know he was a good boy. He visibly calmed at that.

Then she was up, grabbing her fishing gear.

"You are going fishing?" Diana was actually incredulous, the most emotion Raven had ever seen her express.

"We have very little food, and now is the best time to obtain it. I also want to see if those assholes had a camp or some horses or anything nearby. You have your rifle, and Dax's teeth work just fine even with an injured paw. I promise I won't venture further than I can hear you, alright?"

Diana merely nodded, reaching for her rifle and getting it ready, just in case. Before Raven left, however, she spoke up. "Raven, I… what you did… I have never seen a warrior in action. I see now what you mean when you say that fighting is so different from hunting. I… I am sorry. For doubting your purported skill."

Raven just grinned. "Well, you can't be better at _everything_, now can you?" Then she strode off, her pole over her shoulder and her pistol on her hip. She could do this. Those men were dead. She and Diana were stronger than them.

* * *

It took three days, but she eventually got them home. She made the travois, laying Diana on it, who then allowed Dax to lay out over stomach and snuggle with her the entire trip, keeping each other warm as they neared the higher altitude. There had been no horses at the bandits' camp, only ragged tents and bedrolls, which she took and used for the travois, along with a rather large supply of dried food. She also snagged several fish that morning and evening, making the ones she caught in the evening into a heartening stew for them to stuff themselves with. She then got as much sleep as she could before setting out the next morning, carrying the travois by hand.

Two days of dragging Diana and all their worldly possession for an hour at a time, stopping between to rest and drink water, and Raven was _beyond_ exhausted. She had blisters on top of blisters, some open and weeping, and every muscle in her body seemed to hurt. But Diana and Dax were both alive, and warm, which was incredibly important given that they could not move to keep their body temperatures up. She nearly collapsed when someone from the settlement came running to meet them, but managed to at least set Diana and Dax down gently before her knees gave out from the sheer force of her relief.

"Raven!" Diana exclaimed, turning halfway and reaching for the princess's shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

"No," Raven panted, smiling stupidly as she glanced behind her. "Just… relieved… and tired…"

"Well, my lady, we can take you from here," one of the villagers said, indicating Walter and Boulder, the village's only tall soul, off by the entrance to the village.

Nodding, Raven sat in relief, allowing Diana to pull her against the huntress.

"Relax now. You have done well. You got us home. You have done well for our people."

It was the first time Diana had included Raven when referring to her people. It made the princess smile, an odd feeling settling in her chest and stomach at the huntress's words… and her closeness.

* * *

_A/N: I know Raven's move in twisting that guy's neck is unrealistic, but it just looks so cool when she does it in-game that I wanted to include it here. :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: So... this kinda came out of nowhere. I started this chapter twice before this, and it just wasn't working right. So I shut up and let my muse take the lead, and... well. This is what I got. And I rather like it. :)_

* * *

"Raven! Raven, wake up!"

Raven finally managed to drag her eyes open, blinking rapidly. But over the image of Diana's wide eyes and the sound of Dax's worried whimpers, she saw the image of the sword once more.

"No!" she shouted, trying to hold up her hands, to stop the blade, to stop the death of the innocent-

"Raven, it is a dream! _Nothing_ is happening!" Raven felt warm hands on her face, arms encircling her, and the rest of the dream vanished into a fog.

"Oh, Diana," she half-sobbed, half-sighed, clinging to the girl, utterly without shame in her half-awake state.

"Shhhh, it is alright now," Diana soothed, her tone utterly unlike anything Raven had ever heard issue from the stoic huntress's mouth. "Tell me what you saw?" It wasn't a demand, merely an invitation to let out the monsters that plagued her mind.

Raven took it. "I don't remember how it started, but it… it was Elliot. Logan was hacking him to pieces before my very eyes. Then it… then it changed. It was Walter, then Sabine, then Dax, and then… then it was you. I think perhaps that's why it took a moment to wake all the way. I saw you in my dream, and in the waking world, and he was getting ready to use Mother's sword to hack your legs off."

Diana was quiet for a moment, merely holding Raven as she got her tears under control. After a time, in which neither of them made any move to part, she asked, "Was Elliot your intended?"

Raven nodded. "It was a lifetime ago now. I wasn't even sure that I loved him. But we had been friends since we were little, and betrothed since we turned ten. I know he loved me, very much, and I did love him like a brother. But I did not relish the idea of marrying him, of sharing his bed and bearing his children. In the end, though, it did not matter. I stood up to Logan, and his punishment was to make me choose who died – the leaders of the riot outside of the castle, or Elliot, who had convinced me to stand up to Logan in the first place. If I did not choose, then all of them would be executed."

"That… is barbaric," Diana breathed, looking down with those deep brown eyes in the moonlight, seemingly right into Raven's soul.

Raven shuddered, prompting Diana's grip around her to tighten. "Elliot begged me to choose him, and I did. I just… those people did not deserve to die. How many children would lose their mothers and fathers if those men and women were killed? I could not justify choosing my childhood friend over them, and he knew the same thing. But when they took him away, he told me how much he loved me, and stole a kiss, and I… God, I am a monster."

"Why do you say such a thing?"

"Because I cannot help but be relieved that I no longer have to worry about marrying him, or calling the marriage off and completely breaking his heart."

"I do not think it is cruel to allow him to die thinking he had your heart, Raven," Diana countered. "If he had to die…"

"But don't you see? Elliot _knew_ I did not love him as he loved me. He knew I had reservations, and still he sacrificed himself! For me, for those people… and I am glad for the loss of an inconvenience." She tilted her head down in shame. "I am a monster…"

She found fingers under her chin, a gentle but firm pressure making her look up again. "You are not a monster, Raven. Your _brother_ is a monster. He killed your fiancé, would have killed those people. You gave up someone you loved like a brother, someone you knew was good, in order to save perfect strangers. You attempted to thwart the machinations of a tyrant. Do you even know how far-reaching his tyranny is?"

Raven swallowed the lump in her throat. "I know he has made it difficult for your people to live…"

"He killed my parents, Raven."

Raven blinked. "What?!"

"Yes. My mother, Sabine's only child, and my father were great hunters. They taught me everything. Last spring, the king's troops moved through the forest very near where we had our camp, scaring off all the game. Mother and Father went to speak with them in peace, to ask that they move their camp further away, as they had spooked the animals and disrupted the balance. We could not eat. It was imperative we build up our reserves during the spring and summer, or our winter would look as you saw us when you met us – bleak, desolate, and hungry.

"Logan's men took my mother and turned my father away. When he returned for her, with those men and women who knew how to fight, my mother had been raped and beaten to death. They then summarily executed all who had come to claim her, including my father. The only reason we know is because a lone survivor made it out by faking death. When he was sure no one was looking, he came back to us, wounded, near-death, and with this story to tell."

Raven could only stare, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes as Diana clearly fought against her own. Reaching a hand up to touch the other woman's face, she whispered, "Diana… I… I am so sorry…"

"It was not you," Diana asserted, blinking back her tears. "It was the same person who took away your intended. Raven… he was _with_ his men. It was _him_. _He_ did those things, to both of us. And you are fighting to overthrow him. I… I think you will make the kind of leader our country needs."

"If I can learn all you have to teach me, you mean?" Raven was trying for a joke, but her eyes were still slowly streaming tears, and she knew her smile was very weak.

Diana merely scoffed. "You have learned so much so quickly, Raven. And what you did to those men in the forest… You protected us. And you have this sense of justice that… you protect the innocent, defend the injured and the weak. We _need_ that; we need _you_. You would understand our way of life and why we would need you to move your army's camp. You will understand that the different people in your kingdom live differently depending on where they are. I have listened when you speak to Walter about the castle, about the people in Bowerstone. When you discuss how it is different from here."

Diana paused, looking down and catching Raven's gaze once more. "You speak of us the same, Raven. The people here, the people there… you speak as if we are all valid, as though both our ways of life are legitimate. I have watched you. You seek only to learn about us. In your comparison, you do not value one over the other. You see the need for how we live. You are… singularly unique among the people from the city I have met."

Raven did not know what to say. Diana admired her? She watched her? How… "I thought you hated me," she finally said, knowing she should say _something_.

Diana smiled, the third time the thing appeared, and the _only_ time it stayed. Shaking her head, she chuckled lightly – the _first_ time Raven had ever heard it. It was _musical_. "I am sorry. I do not hate you. I have been in mourning these months, and then here you were, the tyrant's sister, to take more from us. I… I have not been at my best. I hope that I can do something to cast your opinion of me in a better light?"

"My opinion of you is very high, Diana. You are strong, capable, and you know these mountains and how to survive in them like I could not have anticipated. If you are hard, it is only because these mountains have forged you thusly. If you are quiet, it is because you must be in order to survive. It is… and you are… utterly beautiful for it."

Raven wasn't sure, but she thought she could see Diana blushed faintly. Surely, with her dark skin and the dim light, it was a trick Raven's own eyes played on her.

"Well, now that we know these things, why don't we try to go back to sleep? I will be right here, safe and sound if the dreams come back."

Raven smiled, settling in to sleep once more. As she drifted off, she realized that, once more, neither of them had moved to part, and her head still lay resting upon the huntress's breast. She smiled at the thought, and at the comfort the stoic huntress provided.


	6. Chapter 6

There were no more nightmares after that first night. Raven spent another day in the sick wagon with Diana and Dax, letting the frostbite she hadn't known was on some of her toes heal before venturing out into the snow once more. The healer splinted Diana's leg far better than Raven could do out in the field. Dax had been tended to by the settlement's dog breeder and trainer, as well as the healer. They had poked and prodded the dog's paw, much to the dog's chagrin, and declared it broken but not crushed, wrapped it thickly, and admonished Raven not to let the dog walk on it for at _least_ three weeks. They weren't sure how well it would heal, but it was all that could be done for him.

After her second night in the wagon – this time sleeping on her own pillow – Raven left, leaving Dax and Diana to keep each other company. The first day she didn't do much, merely eating and watching Walter. She visited Diana and Dax at each meal, formulating a plan for the next several weeks.

The main crux of their plans was that Raven could not go out hunting alone. With her mentor down for at least a month with a broken leg, she needed at least a well-trained hunting dog with her, especially because she was so untested in actually hunting herself, having not yet made a kill. There was a small argument as to whether Raven should even go out hunting, but Diana could not argue with the fact that the Dwellers needed all they could get, and Raven was more than able-bodied. Thanks to a healing salve and her own healing abilities as a Hero, the frostbite on her toes and blisters on her hands were gone. She had the skills, as well, to go fishing and hunting, as well as to protect herself.

_"I will not sit by, useless, living off these people and their kindness, simply because I cannot go out with **you**."_

Diana had relented after that. Raven promised to check in with the huntress nightly, and to speak with the settlement's breeder about a hound. Pleased, Diana gave her approval, sending Raven off to do those things before heading out the next day.

And thus began one of the most methodical months of Raven's life. She got up before dawn to fish, leaving Diana's bedside, where she slept each night. She told herself it was to keep Dax and Diana company, that their time was awfully boring in the sick tent with no one to spend time with, and no physical activity to do. But in the back of her mind, she knew it was because of this odd… connection she now felt to the woman. As Diana told stories of her sweet, wild mother, her just-as-stoic-as-herself father, Raven listened with rapt attention. And she delighted in telling what she remembered of her own mother, the Hero who had risen from poverty to become Queen of Albion.

Only she didn't tell stories of the Hero, just as Diana didn't tell stories of the Hunters. She told stories of everyday things, of laughter and light and smiles, of hugs and kisses and bedtime stories. Diana told similar stories, and as the weeks passed, Raven found herself more and more drawn to the huntress's side, enamored merely by the sound of her voice.

She learned that Diana couldn't read the third day, when she brought the huntress the one book she had grabbed off her bedside the night she had fled the castle with Jasper and Walter. She had brought it to Diana, who had had shame in her eyes – the first time Raven had ever seen it there – as she admitted that she could not make out the words.

So Raven taught her. Every night, by the light of a candle, Raven helped Diana to decipher the letters into words. She gave the huntress parchment and quill from her own supplies to practice writing the letters during the day, starting with her own name. Raven would write her own simple, silly stories for Diana to read aloud, and dictated even simpler stories for the woman to write down. They spent many hours huddled over parchment and book together, giggling and talking and reading. Honestly, half the time was spent telling stories and just getting to know each other further, but Raven would not have it any other way.

It was also spent going over the day's hunting. Diana would ask very detailed questions, honing in on things Raven had done both correctly and incorrectly. It took several days of no kills before Raven was successful – a rabbit out in the snow – and she was able to finally pull it off by discussing her near-misses with Diana each evening.

Today, many weeks after the attack, Raven was out in the snow with her hunting companion, a spritely little terrier named Reena who had been trained as a hunting dog since puppyhood. Today, she would take down a deer. She was determined to do so. She had it in her sights; all she had to do was not lose her patience.

Breathing in, she prepared to squeeze the trigger of her mother's rifle, the one that changed to suit her the more she used it. Breathing out, she squeezed, watching almost in slow-motion as the bullet left the barrel of her gun, traveling straight forward and taking the doe just below its skull. The deer jerked a half-second after the bullet hit, its head snapping to the side, the rest of its body following a moment later.

Raven watched from where she sat behind the blind, her eyes taking in the rapid rising and falling of the doe's chest for a few seconds before it ceased. The legs twitched a moment or two longer, and then the deer lay still.

"Go on, girl," she whispered, and Reena bounded from her spot next to the princess, frolicking through the snow toward the deer. Sniffing around its head, she lifted her own head, happily panting between a few energetic yips. Raven almost fancied the dog nodded, affirming the doe's death in a very human way.

It took several hours, but Raven made it back to the settlement as the sun was setting, the doe tied securely over her shoulders, the dog bounding in the snow beside her.

She returned to a sight she did not expect: Diana.

"Well met, Raven!" the huntress shouted, meeting her at the gate into the temporary village.

"You are walking?!" Raven announced. "Since when?"

Diana smiled, coming to her side as the princess began the ascent up into the camp. "The healer pronounced me fit enough to begin walking about the camp shortly after you left this morning. And I see today was very fruitful – a deer! I trust it had no fawns about?"

Raven shook her head. "None. I made sure I was not leaving anything motherless."

Diana nodded. "Good. I… I have a surprise for you. It occurred to me today, and I thought I would let you in on a secret I neglected to tell you about when you first came to us."

"A secret?"

Diana nodded again, smiling. Raven was sure she would never get enough of that smile, even though it was appearing more and more often. "Let us take this deer to the butcher, and then I will show you."

Raven agreed, puzzling over what this surprise could be. Reena bounded off to her master as they passed the breeder's paddock, and it was only a few minutes later that she was unloading the dead deer at the butcher's wagon. He accepted the work for a leg of the deer, Raven agreed, and then they were headed off to Raven and Walter's wagon. Dax greeted them as they headed inside for…

"Why… are you getting a change of my clothes?"

Diana looked over to her with a sly expression before grabbing something else, as well, what Raven did not see. "You will see why momentarily. Now follow me, princess."

Raven stared after her, completely puzzled. Dax stared as well, his head tilted. Diana had _never_ called her by _any_ title before.

"Come on, Raven, or you will catch flies in your mouth!"

Raven shut her mouth – she hadn't even been aware it was open – and shouted after the huntress, "It's winter; the ground is covered in snow! Just _where_ would these flies come from?"

Diana just shook her head. "Quit questioning me and just come along!"

She seemed excited, and it was really the first time Raven had ever seen her like this. Shrugging down at Dax, who tilted his head up at her, she took off at a trot after Diana, who walked slowly on her first day back on her feet.

Soon, they were headed up a path Raven had never even noticed before. "I feel incredibly idiotic," she murmured, looking ahead and wondering what they would find.

"You have had no reason to go this way," Diana soothed, before smirking. "Plus, you have had servants to use their eyes for you all your life, yes?"

"Why, you little," Raven started, ending by giving Diana a swift jab to the shoulder. She pulled it at the last second, however, quite aware of how much bigger and stronger she was than the huntress, and how weak Diana's legs would be after over a month confined to her bed.

Diana giggled, shoving back. Raven moved behind her to dodge, wrapping her arms around the huntress and catching hold of both her wrists, which held the bundle of Raven's clothing. "I've got you now! What will you do?" she teased.

Diana merely shook her head. "If you don't let me go, then we'll never get to our destination."

Releasing the huntress, she sighed. "Alas, defeated by logic. You are exactly _no_ fun. No fun at all."

Diana chuckled, continuing up the path. It struck Raven just how much things had changed. Two months before, when Raven had first begun spending her days with Diana, the huntress would not have laughed. She would not have smiled, nor been excited, nor _tolerated_ Raven touching her so. The princess now understood _why_, of course – she had not been at her best, and was extremely distrustful of the princess. But now… now she could laugh, and cry (indeed, she had done so many a night after speaking of her parents), and joke. She was excited to show Raven something.

It was amazing what a little time and understanding, and a listening ear, could do for a person.

Following Diana along the path, she noted an odd sulfuric smell. It also seemed… warmer, somehow. "Diana? What do I smell?"

He own question was answered when they crested the rise, and found…

"Hot springs!" Diana announced, turning to beam at the princess. "You have been complaining of the need for sponge baths, and how you could not have one often enough, and I realized you did not know of the hot springs." Raising a brow, she teased, "It explained a great deal." After a second, she clarified, "About the smell."

Raven was so happy she failed to even joke about being mad at the slight. She merely began to strip, her clothing and boots not coming off fast enough. Within a minute, she was stripped completely naked, testing the water with her toes.

Diana did not say a word as she joined the princess, as was her way. Well, it was not her way anymore, but still she spoke less than many others Raven had known. It was an unsurprising symptom of living as a hunter in the harsh mountains, and Raven thoroughly appreciated it now in a way she had not when first meeting Diana. She herself only spoke when in camp these days, and mostly only to the huntress.

She was not concerned with speaking now, though. The water was _divine_… and nearly too hot. Raven soldiered through it, however, so eager was she to soak in anything resembling a bath. She walked all the way in and hunkered down, dipping her hair back a moment before lifting her feet and dunking her whole body under the water. She could feel the water seep in between her legs, under her arms, over her scalp and face, and she knew that were she to drop dead right at that moment, she would die happy.

She did not die, however. Instead, she surfaced, the cold air smacking her in the face after the heat of the water. "God, this is the best feeling in the world," she exclaimed, beaming a smile over at Diana.

The huntress smiled back. "Come here, and I will take out your braid," she offered. Raven accepted, moving to Diana's side and turning to face away from her. She felt the tie pulled from her hair, and then sure fingers were slipping in, unraveling Raven's light brown tresses. The princess was reminded of all the times as a child and beyond that a handmaiden did such a chore for her, and suddenly felt ashamed that she had grown up knowing such luxury as having someone do something as simple as taking her hair out and brushing it.

Pulling away gently, she finished the job, finger-combing her hair as best she could, wet as it was.

"Soap?"

Raven turned around to find the huntress holding out the soap she had clearly grabbed from Raven's own supplies. Giving her a mock-accusatory look, Raven accepted it, going about the chore of scrubbing herself from top to bottom. As she did so, she found her eyes drawn to Diana's form more and more. She didn't get any close looks at the huntress's, however, as she kept herself hidden under the water, merely drifting lazily back and forth as Raven worked.

But Raven was suddenly struck by how very beautiful she found this woman, where before she had only found her plain-looking. Her dusky skin looked perpetually warm, the darker freckles dusting her nose and cheeks calling to Raven in ways she couldn't put a name to. All she knew was that, suddenly, she desperately wanted to once again be close to this small, dark-skinned woman with the dark hair and naked, lithe little hunter's body.

_Since when have I cared what her __**body**__ is like?_

"Raven? Are you alright?"

Raven nearly jumped when Diana called to her from across the water. Her face flaring red-hot, she sank into the water once more.

She had been caught staring.

She tried to recover herself. "Just… enjoying the cold and the heat together," she said vaguely, dipping her hair to rinse it.

"Mmmm," the huntress hummed, eyeing her skeptically. She grinned slyly then, before splashing water right into the princess's face.

Raven yelped, standing up, completely unabashedly, and sputtering water. Narrowing her eyes, she splashed the huntress back, and before long they were in a full-on water war. It only ended when Raven once again managed to grab hold of the huntress.

Only she wasn't prepared for the feel of Diana's naked body in her arms, and released her almost immediately, the laughter dying on both their lips. She felt as though electricity had coursed through her body at the touch, and she couldn't decide if she liked it or not, but she definitely wanted more. And she had no idea what to do with that information.

Now Diana was facing her, a most peculiar look in her dark brown eyes. Her black hair shone in the moonlight, the sun having set some time before, the same moonlight glinting off the water clinging to her shoulders. The huntress was moving closer, and Raven was rooted in place, her realization being one that was far too much for her to process.

"Raven…"

The princess blinked, shaking her head. "Diana?"

The huntress stopped a few inches before her. "Raven, I…" Whatever she might have said, she seemed to think better of it, shaking her head and making an exasperated sound before reaching out. Her fingers laced into Raven's hair on either side, pulling her forward.

Then Raven's lips were covered by Diana's, her body flush against the huntress's, and the world stopped moving for a timeless moment.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: So... I hope this doesn't disappoint. Do I really need to put a warning in my stories anymore? This chapter earns it its M rating._

* * *

Raven's heart sped back up, ramming into her ribs just as Diana's lips parted from her own. She could see her breath as she exhaled, could feel the huntress's skin shift against her own, could feel the detail of the woman's small breasts, perky nipples pressed into the princess's stomach because Raven was so much taller than the other woman.

Diana's hands disappeared from Raven's hair, her skin disappearing from Raven's right along with it. "I… I'm sorry, princess, I…"

"Don't," Raven breathed, finally moving, wending her arms around Diana's waist and pulling them flush against each other once more. "I am Raven to you, Diana," she whispered, before pressing their lips together again, not thinking, merely doing as her body commanded.

Raven had always felt sloppy in her kisses with Elliot. They were full of too much saliva, too much tongue, his hands groping in too many different places she didn't want them. Honestly, she had always wondered what was so great about kissing, and would _always_ be the one to cut short Elliot's kisses so she could drag him off to practice swordplay, or to explore the empty rooms in the castle. His lips felt okay, but the hair coming in on his face was rough, especially after he was old enough to shave it. His hands were clumsy, as were her own, and the whole thing made her uncomfortable and… she just felt _wrong_.

Diana felt _all kinds_ of right. Her lips were soft, molding to Raven's like they belonged there. Raven's hands seemed to know just what to do, tightening her grip around Diana's waist, her fingers studying the muscles along the huntress's back and sides. Diana's arms immediately wrapped around Raven's neck, holding tightly to her, as if afraid the princess might let go.

Raven would _not_ be letting go, not if she had any say in the matter.

The hot water had felt amazing, but paled in comparison to the feeling of Diana's wet, warm skin pressed against the princess. Buoyant in the water, their breasts slid past each other as they shifted slightly. Their stomachs pressed together, as well, sending jolts of electricity straight down to settle between Raven's legs, robbing her head of what power she had left to think with.

Their lips parted once more – though nowhere else did their contact cease – this time panting heavily, their breaths visible between them.

"I… I do not know what comes next," Diana breathed after a seeming eternity with their foreheads pressed together, breathing each other's air and holding each other's gazes.

Raven shook her head lightly, smiling bashfully. "Neither do I. But I am more than willing to figure it out if you are."

Diana's answer was to lift both legs and wrap them around Raven's waist, putting all of her weight in the princess's arms. "I am yours, my princess," she whispered. "My Raven."

"And I am yours, Diana," Raven answered, smiling as she closed the mere inches between them. Their lips met once more, the huntress's legs cinching tighter, Raven and the water the only things holding her up. Sinking into the warm water, Raven slowly began to move backwards until she got shallow enough that she could sit, the huntress in her lap.

Then she tried it, finally thinking that maybe now, with someone she so obviously, _actually _desired, she might enjoy it. Slowly, tentatively, as their lips moved against each other, Raven slid her tongue out, probing hesitantly against Diana's lower lip, on which she had been lightly sucking. The response was immediate: with a sharp inhale through her nose, Diana's mouth opened, allowing the princess full, unhindered access. Groaning lightly, she plunged forward, a little awkwardly, it was true, but Diana did not seem to mind. Raven was met with enthusiasm, and soon they had a rhythm going that had the princess's blood humming.

Diana tasted salty, and earthy, and somewhat like the tobacco that her grandfather liked to smoke. She smelled of leather and furs and wool, the same earthy tobacco smell joining in to make a scent that was uniquely _Diana_. Her mouth was hot, and fast, and wet, and understated, just like the rest of her. And Raven could not _begin_ to get enough of it.

Hot, too, was the woman's skin, soft and wet, sliding against her own. She could feel the tickle of hair between the huntress's legs against her own belly, making her heart race even faster. Diana's fingers were now firmly embedded in the princess's hair, gripping nearly too tightly, again as though Raven might let go. In fact, all of Diana's body language – the grip in Raven's hair, around her neck, and around her waist – said one thing: don't let go.

But it soon became clear that they could not stay in this spring. A pitiful whimper from Dax, who had not entered the water, caught their attention. Pulling apart, panting, they both looked in his direction. He was visibly shivering. "Dammit Dax," Raven mumbled. Sighing, she added, "He needs to go inside. He'll freeze to death if we stay here."

Diana whimpered, her breaths washing over Raven's face, making her regret ever having the damn dog…

"There is somewhere we can go. I… I spend the night there when it is warm enough and I need the privacy."

"Brilliant!" Raven exclaimed. She loosened her grip, and Diana reluctantly parted from her. Even in the hot water, her skin felt cool where the huntress was no longer touching her.

But they did not part fully. Diana took her hand, kissing its knuckles before standing, finally showing her body off in the moonlight. Raven was surprised to find that the dark skin did not continue unadulterated, but got patchy on the huntress's torso. Several large, pale spots decorated Diana's stomach, wrapping around her ribs in one place to spread onto her back. On the huntress's lover belly, the pale skin disappeared between her legs, bleaching a good deal of the hair covering the woman's sex.

Letting her eyes reach the conclusion of their ascent at the huntress's beautiful face, she saw a look of concern, of embarrassment. "This is all of me," Diana said simply, clearly worrying of some sort of judgment of her body.

Raven smiled, squeezing the hand that she held and standing up herself, letting the water drip from her in the cold air. "And this is all of me. Now let us move all of us so we can stop bloody _freezing_ out here," she said, smiling as Diana actually laughed. The princess had been hoping that would alleviate the other woman's worries.

Diana let go of Raven's hand as they hurriedly gathered up their clothing, but then took it again, leading Raven farther up the same path they had used to get to the hot spring. The only concession to the cold they made was to slip on their boots, as a walk through the snow was required. The air bit at her naked skin, but her blood was near to boiling at this point, and she knew soon they would be sheltered once more.

In the distance, Raven saw a lone wagon. "Is that where we're headed?" she asked.

Diana nodded. "It's been abandoned for years. I sleep there sometimes in the winter when we camp here, when I want some time alone with my thoughts. Tonight, however, I want time alone with _you_."

Raven felt a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold travel down her spine at the slight growl in Diana's voice.

They entered the wagon, surprisingly clean, with bedding against the far wall. It even had a small stove and a small stack of wood. "I take it you came here recently?"

"I… spent a lot of nights alone after Mother and Father died," Diana explained, her eyes downcast. "I didn't start sleeping in Sabine's wagon until you came, actually. I… wanted to protect him." Her eyes shot up, a guilty look crossing her features. "I did not know you then how I know you now."

"Well," Raven said with a smirk, coming close, purposefully pressing herself against the huntress, whose eyes closed, her body shuddering at the contact. "I'm glad I could change your mind."

"God, I want you," Diana murmured, her hands reaching up, dragging her nails down Diana's back.

"You have me, Diana," Raven cooed. "But it is still _bloody_ freezing in here. Set out my coat for Dax, and I'll get a fire going, alright?"

Diana whimpered as they separated, but dutifully took Raven's things and made a small bed by the stove for the dog so he would not attempt to sleep with the two of them. Then she settled into the bedding along the far wall, watching intently as a very naked – but only slightly self-conscious – Raven stacked wood inside the stove. Then, not feeling like doing things the traditional way, she concentrated a moment, sending a small blast of flame directly into the kindling from the palm of her hand. She had a fire going in seconds. Closing the stove's door partway so as to give them some light, she turned to find Diana all covered up, sitting amid the blankets they would be sharing momentarily.

Kneeling before the huntress, her lips quirked up at the corner, she spoke. "May I join you, my lady?"

Diana gave her a sardonic look, throwing back the blankets to reveal the entirety of her naked body in the low light from the open stove. "If you do not stop joking around, Raven, I very well might say _no_ to that question."

Raven didn't respond. She was far too busy drinking in the sight of Diana's body up-close. "Honestly," Diana mumbled, before reaching out and wrapping her arms about Raven's neck, pulling her forward so she spilled over across the naked huntress. Warm skin seared across her own, and then her back was covered with a woolen blanket.

Dark eyes seemed to stare right through her, into her very soul. "Shut up and make love to me, Raven."

Unable to think of a single good response to that, she merely covered Diana's mouth with her own, letting the warmth and her lover's taste and scent surround her until she was lost in a heady haze.

Her attention was brought crashing to the fore when Diana's hands began to wander, however. Her fingers trailed up Raven's ribs, her palms following, tracing the outlines of muscles as they moved up onto her back and shoulders. Raven attempting to do that same, but Diana's mouth had moved and was now trailing kisses down her chin and onto her throat, distracting her entirely.

"God, I think I love you, Diana," she moaned, not knowing what she was doing but just trusting that she wouldn't do or say anything too stupid. And anyway, as soon as the words were out, she knew they were true.

She could feel Diana smile against the skin of her throat. "I think I love you, too, Raven," she murmured between kisses, her tongue darting out and lancing _fire_ right through Raven's chest and down into her lower belly. It felt like she was building toward something, an urgency forming in her gut she had no idea what to do with.

Somehow in all of the kissing and groping, Raven found her leg between Diana's, and almost without thinking they were moving together. Undulating, panting, moaning, groping at each other's breasts, kissing every bit of skin they could reach. Raven noticed that her thigh was covered in something slick, emanating from between Diana's legs. A moment of concentration told her that the area between her own legs was just as slick, and she moaned into Diana's mouth as she realized just what this might mean.

As a young teenager, on the day her courses came to her for the first time, she was given a single lesson on sex. She was told that if the man she married did a good enough job, she would become damp, allowing him inside of her, where he would deposit his seed. She couldn't even look at Elliot for an entire week after that. She had thought that the slickness would be bloody just as her courses were, and she could not imagine having to be sweaty and naked with him on top of her, urinating inside of her as she bled all over him.

She figured out in time that that was not true, that a man's seed was different, and that it really could be pleasurable. Indeed, she had even insisted last summer to see Elliot's member, curious to see what it was all about. It had been entirely unappealing, and after helping him achieve climax, she had never agreed to look upon it again. She could not _imagine_ that having it inside of her would be pleasant in the _least_.

Now, though… Now she wanted Diana inside of her, wanted to rub against the woman, press into her until their skin dissolved and the two of them melded together to form one being. Murmured declarations of love escaped their lips as their rhythm became faster and faster, sweat sprouting upon their skin as the friction between them heated them to an almost uncomfortable degree.

Suddenly, Diana's legs clamped around Raven's like a vice, and her eyes shot open, a look of shock on her face. Briefly, Raven saw fear there, Raven's name forming silently on her lips. But then Diana was shouting something unintelligible, her whole body bucking against Raven's, concentrated where the princess's knee pressed between Diana's legs. All Raven could do was hold her, trying desperately not to remember Elliot's bit-off cries in the garden behind the palace. She at least knew what was happening to Diana, though, that she was climaxing, and tried to coax her through it, using a soothing tone as she encouraged her to "keep feeling good, my darling girl."

A seeming eternity later, Diana stopped bucking, going utterly boneless in Raven's arms.

"Diana? Are you alright?"

Diana merely opened her eyes a little, a lazy smile appearing on her lips. "I think I just died a little."

Raven chuckled. "It looked like a great deal of fun."

"Give me a moment to not be dead, and we can try it for you, as well."

"I think that's more than fair," Raven murmured, hugging the boneless woman tightly to her and burying her face in the huntress's throat. She found it difficult not to keep moving against her, however, as her own blood was still past boiling, every point of contact with Diana blazing with heat. Having the huntress so fluid in her arms, a puddle of warm skin and delicious breath washing over her, made it very difficult to keep her head.

"There is a saying," Diana murmured, beginning to move with Raven, her hands exploring along the princess's back once more, stoking coals into flames and generally causing all sorts of mischief.

"Oh? And what is that?" Raven breathed, closing her eyes as Diana nipped and kissed at her throat.

"That royalty was not gifted the virtue of patience," Diana whispered, tilting her head up and capturing Raven's mouth in a kiss. Raven immediately met her, dancing their tongues together, tasting wet heat infuse across her tongue.

Pulling apart, Raven lifted a brow. "Is that so? And what of all the patience I have learned at your knee, out on the hunt?"

"That is an entirely different hunt from this," Diana crooned, moving her hands languidly along Raven's arms. Suddenly, Raven's wrists were caught in a vice-grip, and the world tilted. She yelped, letting out an "oof" as her shoulders hit the bed. Then Diana was atop her, grinning down at her, eyes hooded in an extremely enticing way.

"This is a hunt, is it?" Raven teased, testing her hands against Diana's. The huntress held fast, her eyes flashing as she dipped her head down to start nibbling gently on Raven's neck.

"I certainly plan to _try_ to make a kill tonight," Diana purred, switching to pin both Raven's wrists with one hand. "A small one." Her free hand drifted between them, exploring the hair between Raven's legs a moment before trailing lower, lower, lower…

"Ah!" the princess cried, looking down sharply into Diana's lazy grin. The huntress had slipped a finger _inside_ of her, and it felt… "God, that feels amazing, Diana!"

Diana pushed herself up to kiss the princess. "I am glad," she said as their lips parted. "I don't quite know what I'm doing, but I thought I'd explore a little and see what happened."

"Can you… can you try more?"

Diana's eyes flashed again, and then suddenly Raven felt… _fuller_. "God, yes, that, right there. Keep doing-" She bit off a cry, not finishing her request as the huntress pushed up inside of her with two fingers again, finally releasing Raven's wrists. Raven immediately wrapped her arms around Diana's shoulders, pulling them tight against each other as she brought their lips crashing together.

She bucked her hips to Diana's rhythm, pushing herself further onto the huntress's fingers, trying desperately to take Diana deeper. The very thought itself nearly stole from Raven her ability to think, causing her blood to pound between her legs against Diana's hand. She wasn't quite sure what she murmured between kisses, but it couldn't have been much, for Diana's tongue was almost permanently embedded in her mouth. Which was fine by Raven – she _still_ couldn't seem to get enough of the huntress's taste and scent.

She pulled back suddenly, however, when Diana's thumb crept to a particular spot. "What…?"

"Is it good?" Diana asked, worry in her eyes as she slowed a little. "This is what felt so good earlier…"

"I… God, yes, don't stop! Something… something's happening…" Raven bucked a little harder, forgoing words entirely as she kissed her lover again. A wave was cresting inside of her, and it was all she could do to merely hold on as it overtook her entire being, centered at Diana's hand.

She let out a cry as that wave broke, throwing her head back as Diana buried her face in the princess's throat. Her whole body then seized, and wave after wave of pure, unadulterated _pleasure_ coursed through her, playing an undulating rhythm of colors behind her eyes.

Then she, too, collapsed, unable to move as she panted, catching her breath. Diana's hand disappeared from inside of her, prompting the princess to whimper until that wet hand wrapped around her, pulling her to the huntress's shoulder.

Snuggling in, Raven whispered, "I love you, Diana," once more before she drifted off to sleep, cocooned by the scent and warmth of her new lover.

"I love you, too, Raven. More than I ever could have known…"


	8. Chapter 8

Raven awoke to a kiss on her brow. As she came to full consciousness, she felt a naked body pressed against her, and all of the previous evening came rushing back to her. She hurriedly looked up to make sure it was real, that it had actually happened.

Diana was there, eyes half-open as she gazed back down. Her brows furrowed when Raven looked up, however, her entire body stiffening slightly.

Raven reached up for the girl's beautiful face. "Diana? What's wrong?"

"The look on your face… are you second-guessing…?"

Raven blinked a few times, getting rid of the fog of sleep. "What? How could I second-guess _this_?!" To emphasize her point, she dragged herself up to be level with the huntress, sliding her naked skin across Diana's. Staring into those dark-brown eyes that always seemed to gaze right back into her soul, she continued. "You feel amazing against me, and all I want to do is a repeat of last night. I keep replaying that moment you kissed me… it's like the heavens opened up and said, 'This! This is what you want!'" Dipping her head down, she kissed the very tip of Diana's nose, eliciting a giggle from the normally-stoic huntress. "This is what I've wanted this whole time. Don't you see?"

"This, or _me_?" Diana asked, her eyes furrowing a little again.

Raven frowned a little. "What do you mean?"

Diana sighed, looking away. "You say you did not love your fiancé, that his body was not desirable to you. Clearly my body is desirable to you, but… is it because you desire _me_, or because any woman in my place would do?"

Those dark eyes turned to her again at the last, and Raven saw something she never thought she'd _ever_ see in Diana's eyes. The huntress was _insecure_.

_She… she doubts I love her?_ Raven took a second to think about it. It was true, now that she thought on it, that she stared a little too long at women, whether maids, servants, other nobles… she found the female form fascinating. She would certainly _like_ to see other women naked, but…

"They would not be you," Raven said aloud. Shifting so she sat on her knees, hating the cessation of contact but knowing it necessary for conversing face-to-face, she reached for Diana's hands, holding them in her lap. "Diana, I think it's safe to say I like women, and not men. But… no, anyone else would _not_ do. I want _you_."

Diana gazed intently into Raven's eyes for a moment, seeming to consider the princess's words. Raven was tempted to say something more, to clarify what she'd already said, or perhaps to ask for an answer before Diana was ready to give it. But if she had learned anything spending time with the huntress, it was that patience was called for more often than not, and that silence was more telling than words.

So she waited. Every moment felt like an eternity, but she waited.

Finally, Diana moved, threading her fingers through the princess's and lifting one, placing a kiss on her knuckles. "I just… needed to be sure. Because I do love you, Raven. And you are going to be queen someday, and I just… I am terrified of what happens then."

"What happens then…?"

Diana sighed, rolling her eyes a little. "Queens need children, Raven. I can do many things, but I cannot give you those. So you will marry, and you will have children, and I will be… your lover who hunts in the mountains? Will you quench your thirst for women with others while we are apart? There will certainly be plenty of women willing to throw themselves at you – the queen, the Hero." She shook her head. "Perhaps I am thinking too far ahead, but I cannot help but to take this to its logical conclusion."

Raven frowned, reaching for Diana's shoulders and turning her so they faced once more. "I _love_ you, Diana. And I know that you do not feel for me because of my royalty. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's _despite_ my royalty, _despite_ my abilities. We… we will figure those things out later. All I know is I never want to be parted from you. Now that you are here, in my life… I never want to leave you."

Diana's expression was sad as she answered. "But you must, don't you see? Come spring, you must leave us, rally more supporters for your army. Then you must take the castle and be queen. You cannot return to the mountains, not for more than the occasional visit."

Raven just smiled, her hands sliding down Diana's arms to take the huntress's hands once more. "So come with me."

"Come… with you? Leave the Dwellers?"

Raven nodded. "I know your people are important to you, Diana, but… don't you see? You can _help_ me! You can help secure their safe future, their use of the mountains and the forest." After a moment, she added, "And you can stay with me. I don't have a choice – I _must_ leave. But you _do_ have a choice, Diana."

Diana frowned. "And what good would a hunter do you? I cannot fight. I know nothing of the lowlands. I have never ventured to a city, not even Brightwall! You ask me to leave my people, my home… Sabine. I cannot leave him, Raven. Not even for you. He will have lost _everything, everyone,_ if I do so."

Raven looked away, releasing Diana's hands as she laid back down, pulling the blanket over her shoulders, shivering from the cold. Sighing, Diana disappeared from her side. Raven heard some shuffling, seeing the light of the flame come back to life on the wall next to her. Then Diana was behind her, snuggling up close to her back.

A kiss was pressed to Raven's shoulder. "A storm is blowing in. We can't go anywhere, so we might as well get more sleep," she said softly. Her hand appeared tentatively on Raven's waist, the dingers pressing into her skin in a question, but the princess made no move to accept it, no move to answer "yes." After a moment the hand disappeared. Diana turned, her warmth disappearing as distance was put between them.

A tear silently traced down Raven's cheek as she willed sleep to come once more. Half an hour before this everything had been so _perfect_. She couldn't help but be angry. Diana had started it, kissing Raven first. She had made the princess love her, and then refused to be _with_ her.

Life would have been simpler, less painful, if Raven had been allowed to continue thinking Diana an unfeeling, smug little hunter with a superiority complex. Now, though… now she _loved_ her. The princess _loved_ her.

But that did not seem to be enough for Diana.

Ravem spent the rest of the day in and out of a doze. Dax came over to snuggle with her at one point, and she gladly accepted his warmth and comfort, feeling his soft fur against her skin. More than once she soaked him with her silent tears, but he did not seem to mind.

When she would cry, Diana's hand would appear hesitantly on her shoulder, but again Raven made no move to accept it, and soon again Diana would leave her alone. She couldn't be sure, but she thought that perhaps the huntress shed some tears, as well, but forced herself not to look. She could not bear the sight. She could not bear to be soft right now. Diana had hurt her; the huntress _should_ feel guilty. She _should_ hurt right along with Raven.

Finally, _finally_, the storm calmed near sundown. Hushing Dax, Raven left the bed soundlessly, pulling on her clothing as quickly and silently as possible. She wasn't sure if Diana was actually asleep or not, but if she was going to do this, she needed to do it while the huntress was still not looking at her. She couldn't bear those dark eyes staring at her while she walked away. Grabbing the dirty clothes she had stripped out of before their ill-fated bath the night before, she ushered Dax out into the dregs of the storm. Sighing, wiping the tears away from her cheeks, she made her way down the path to the wagon she shared with Walter.

In the abandoned wagon by the hot springs, unseen and unheard by anyone, Diana finally let out a sob, burying her face in the blankets and letting out all her pain and misery at the way things had turned out.

* * *

_A/N: Sooo... sorry for being a big fucking bummer. But this whole idea of the commoner and the princess is what was **really** following me as I played through the game. So when I went to write this chapter, that's where my muse took it. I'm writing this how I write everything - by the seat of my pants - so I didn't really know that's where this was gonna go until it went there. Like, literally, halfway through the chapter I still thought they'd resolve to just "see how it goes." But then Diana took it from me and was like, "Nope, I **will not** leave," and then Raven decided to get all butthurt, and I left it, because even though it was sad, it was good. And it was different for me. I'm experimenting in writing a relationship different from my own. ;)_

_In other news, Raven Sinead, I unknowingly filled your last prompt. "I'd love to see you write an argument with no resolution." So you can all blame her for even putting the thought into my head._


	9. Chapter 9

Furious now, Raven stalked back into her wagon, glaring Walter into silence as she shed her boots. It was suppertime, and she had not eaten since midday the day before. Accepting her bowl of stew, she ate it mechanically, only able to focus on her anger.

And it was anger she was feeling now. With each step away from that bed, where a naked Diana lay, her tears had dried, her anger rising to take the place of her sadness. Now it was in full control of her. And everything in her way was subject to it.

"Calm down, pup. You're going to break the bowl with that spoon," Walter exclaimed, trying for a joke.

Raven merely glared at him.

He frowned. "Don't you look at me like that, Raven. You might be the princess, and a Hero, but I've boxed your ears for stepping out of line, and I've knocked you flat on your rump when you overstepped with your sword." Clearing his throat, his tone got a bit softer. "Now why don't you tell me what's got you so upset, huh?"

She considered him for a moment. Would he understand? Was a woman with a woman something he would focus on over what she was feeling? She erred on the side of caution. She wasn't ready to talk about it, anyway. "I don't want to talk about it."

He hummed, but nodded. "Alright. Just don't take your anger out on me unless it's _me_ you're angry with."

She couldn't help but to smile, her anger simmering down a little. "Right you are, Walter." Finishing her food, she put the bowl in the larger bowl of soapy water they kept inside for hands and dishes. "Good night, Walter," she said, stripping down to her undershirt and cozying into her blankets.

"Night, pup," he gruffed, adding his own bowl to the water before bunking down himself.

Despite having dozed all day, she was exhausted, and sleep came quickly. Cuddled up to Dax, she slept a dreamless night through, waking before dawn to go out and fish.

Raven managed to avoid even _seeing_ Diana for three days. She would get up, fish, and go hunting, all with Dax _and_ Reena for company. Then she would retreat to her wagon and go to sleep, utterly exhausted.

The tears came the first day while out, first while fishing, then while hunting. She didn't get a kill that first day. She just sobbed and sobbed until she couldn't anymore, then came home and went to bed, _angry_.

The second day was better. She got a couple of rabbits, and she was mostly angry rather than weepy. The third day she didn't shoot her rifle, but she found a squirrel's nest and came home with her pack fill to bursting with nuts as well as the squirrel and its young. Once upon a time she would have flinched to kill the baby squirrels, but now she knew that by taking the nuts she was dooming them to death anyway, so she snapped their necks and took them along.

The fourth day, Diana passed her wagon just as Raven was exiting. The huntress stopped, looking up at Raven in the pre-dawn gloom, catching her gaze with those soulful dark eyes. They merely stared for a moment before Diana opened her mouth.

Raven didn't let her speak. Slinging her rifle over her shoulder, she pushed past the huntress, heading in the direction of the lake. Dax greeted Diana behind her, but came when Raven whistled for him. He was _her_ dog, dammit. Diana had no right to be familiar with him.

On the fifth day, Raven returned to the settlement at the same time as Diana. The huntress carried a dead fox around her shoulders and had several rabbits hanging from her belt – quite the haul for a single day of hunting. At her heels came one of the breeder's dogs, holding himself with a proud bearing. Diana had no dog to herself. No one in the village did. Instead, the dog breeder cared for them all, training them to hunt before sending them out for everyone to hunt with, receiving food in return.

"Well met, Raven," Diana called. Raven's heart started beating faster. She noted that Diana's tone was very similar to where it had been after they met – polite, but reserved.

It made Raven want to weep, for the closeness they had lost. And then it made Raven angry all over again, for Diana was the one who kissed _her_, and then she was the one to walk away.

So Raven didn't answer. She merely stomped right by Diana, dropping Reena off with the trainer and taking Dax back to her wagon. She hadn't gotten a kill that day, which wasn't that unusual, as they were now in the dead of winter. Tomorrow she would be going for an overnight hunting trip. All the hunters would be. It was no longer safe to go out for multiple days, but just overnight would allow them to find a little more food before the cold and the snow forced them to hole up in the makeshift village for the coldest month of winter. It was one last attempt at bringing in much-needed food for a community that had been forbidden – by Logan – to build up its stores for the winter.

Raven vowed the Dwellers would never have such a hard winter again. Hunting in the snow should not be something they had to do every single day right up until the last moment. Raven would ensure, as queen, that their forests remained untouched, so that the Dwellers could live lives full of fat little children and winters full of warm fires and stores aplenty.

"Is something wrong between you and Diana, pup?" Walter asked, coming into the wagon right behind her.

"Leave it, Walter," she warned, stowing her equipment before shedding her heavy coat of furs.

"That bad, is it?"

"I said leave it," Raven repeated. She was in no mood.

"I just… you spent a month in that sick wagon with her instead of here with me. And then the _day_ she's back on her feet, something happens. I would be a terrible caretaker if I didn't at least _ask_," Walter pressed, looking over at her with concern from where he cooked their nightly meal.

Raven sighed. "I just… I really wish I could speak with Mother right now…"

Walter stopped stirring, setting the spoon down. Turning to face her fully, he gave her his best fatherly expression. "There are some things a daughter can only speak with her mother about, it's true. It pains me still that you must be robbed of her so early. But if you need it, I am a pretty good listener. Or perhaps Jasper, if you think he would do better."

The princess scrubbed a hand over her face, rubbing it through her lengthening hair before making a "I give up" gesture. "Something… _happened_. With Diana. She… she kissed me, and…"

"And you finally removed your head from your arse and realized you like girls?"

Raven literally had no other response but to stare dumbly, blinking rapidly in shock. Where should she start? Walter _knew_? This was something that women _did_? Who _else_ knew? Did he know all they did together?

Walter laughed, presumably at her expression. "Relax, pup. You'd have to be blind not to see it. You acted like a boy growing up, you never seemed particularly taken with Elliot, and you and she were giggling together and sleeping in the same wagon all through her illness. I'm not blind, and I've been in love a time or two myself. I know what it looks like."

"Is… I didn't even know women could love each other like that, Walter," she whispered, feeling her face go a very bright red.

He smiled. "I admit, it's rare. Most men don't understand it – what can women _do_ together, anyway? But your mother set me straight pretty quick when I expressed that sentiment. And then you started acting like a little boy, and your mother and I started speculating."

"Then why was I promised to Elliot?" Raven was suddenly angry about that. If they had suspected, then why would she be promised to a _boy_, and at such a young age?

Walter just shrugged. "That is just was royals do, pup. They're promised at a young age, with the ability to opt out at a later date. You could have said no to him, pup."

Raven shook her head. "It ended up being a moot point. He's dead."

Walter looked down at his lap. "And no one regrets that more than I. He was a good lad, and would have made a good man. He would have bowed down gracefully if you had turned him aside. He would have been happy for you, Raven." Here, he looked up again, his light brown eyes finding hers in the firelight. "He would be happy for you and Diana, pup."

Raven let out a frustrated sound. "He would have been happy for us? I actually believe that, because he would be happy about the nothing that it's come to."

"I… I thought you said you kissed? Didn't you spend the entire blizzard together? I know what I would have been doing all day if _I_ were seventeen with a beautiful woman in my arms…"

"Oh, gross, Walter!" Raven exclaimed, smiling at his chuckle despite her horror at his words. Sobering a little, she looked away. "I told her how much I love her, how I want her, and she… she turned me away. Walter, _she_ kissed _me_, found us a private place to spend the night, and then the next morning she rejected me!"

Walter was silent for a moment before speaking. "Why?"

"Why did she reject me? She won't leave her people, won't leave Sabine."

"You actually _asked_ her to leave her _people_?" Walter asked incredulously.

Raven hesitated, unsure about what had happened, and her rightness, for the first time. "I… yes, I did. I asked her to come with me when it comes time for us to leave at the Thaw."

"You asked a Dweller, the granddaughter of the leader to boot, to leave her people?"

"… Yes."

Walter groaned. "Raven…"

"What?!" Raven replied hotly. She had _never_ appreciated being treated like an idiot, nor like a child. Now she felt like she was being treated like an idiot child.

"Asking a Dweller to leave her people is like asking a fish to leave the water, Raven!" Walter answered exasperatedly. "You can ask all you like, but they _can't_ do it."

Raven frowned. "I don't understand."

"Exactly. You're not a Dweller, how could you understand? I barely understand. You're from a city full of people. You've had servants, nannies, people like me to show you how to navigate the world. You do not know what it is to be a Dweller."

"I've spent a good deal of time with them, Walter. Do not treat me like I know nothing."

He sighed. "In this, you still know nothing, pup. You came two months ago, and you will leave less than two months from now. You cannot know what it is to _be_ a Dweller in that time. You can only know what it is to live among them."

At Raven's obviously continued confusion, he elaborated. "You will not marry here, nor have children, nor raise them. You will not feed your children from these forests. You won't bury your parents in these mountains. You will not rely on the honesty of the people around you to keep you alive for _literally the rest of your life_. Dwellers are very trustful of each other, and _incredibly distrustful_ of outsiders. Outsiders don't know their ways. Outsiders get Dwellers killed. Asking a Dweller to live outside of their own is to ask them to live among the people who would get them killed. A Dweller _must_ rely on the people around him – it is in his marrow. To put him in a place where he cannot trust the people around him is to kill him. Slowly, in an unfamiliar place."

Raven simply continued furrowing her brows. "So when I asked Diana to come with me because I love her and can't live without her…"

"You asked her to pick you or her people. She _knows_ her people. She barely knows you in comparison. Honestly, the fact that she would open her heart to an outsider is shocking in itself, let alone the princess of the realm."

"Why does my royalty matter?"

Walter turned to stir their food once more, speaking as he did so. "You are the _princess_, Raven. You will do things for politics. You have already slain bandits, found a magical music box, and gotten Brightwall to share their food and other supplies for politics – to get the Dwellers' support in the revolution. You will continue to do so. The Dwellers… they distrust politics. They distrust anything that is not the way of their clan."

Raven continued to frown. "Is my word not enough?"

"Was it for Sabine?" Walter countered, holding a bowl of fish stew out to her. "Did he not make you _prove_ your word was true?"

They didn't speak after that. They merely ate, Raven turning down earlier than usual in anticipation of the long day of trudging through the snow with two dogs ahead of her.


	10. Chapter 10

"What is _that_?"

Raven watched as a _goat_ of all things jumped its way across the rocky terrain on the mountaintop rising above her, to her right. The only difference from the goats she was familiar with was the _gigantic_ horns upon its head. She'd been trudging all the day before and most of today without luck. Maybe she could get one? She needed to get closer to even hit it, though – and she didn't even know how big and heavy the damn thing was.

Slinging her rifle over her shoulder, Raven began her trek, slinking closer and closer to the base of the rocky rise. The entire time the goat merely stood there, munching on a large tuft of grass seeming to sprout right out of the side of the ridge. The dogs moved silently with her, eyes up on the goat whenever passing through the sparse trees allowed them a view.

Ten minutes later, she was close enough to try. Unslinging her rifle, she lined up her shot. The thing looked bigger from here, but it still didn't seem much bigger than a deer. Figuring this meant she should aim for roughly the same place, she fixed her sights on the goat's head, aiming just slightly under the tiny ear.

Breathing in and then out, she squeezed the trigger. A blossom of crimson bloomed on impact, and the goat faltered, losing its footing and falling from the rocky ridge. A soft _thunk_ accompanied its landing in the snow. Slinging her rifle back over her shoulder, she left the sparse cover of the trees, heading for the very base of the rocky ridge, where the goat had landed.

Suddenly both dogs' hackles were raised, their snarling filling the air. The snow at the base of the ridge seemed to be moving, and it was stained with blood, and…

_That's the goat. It isn't dead_.

A strange bleating sound filled the air, and then the goat was on her. Both dogs launched themselves at it, but Raven did not see them. All she saw was its head lowered, its horns aimed directly for her midsection.

She didn't have time to shoot it, not even with the pistol on her belt. All she had time to do was attempt to get out of its way. Rolling to her right, she pulled her hunting knife from her boot, the only thing she could reach on such short notice. Then the animal was on her again.

This time in got her right in the gut, yanking upwards with its horns the moment it rammed into her. As it did so, she drove her knife into its throat, seeking the artery she knew must live in there, somewhere. She registered that the wind had been knocked out of her, accompanied by a burning, tearing pain along her right side, just as Reena and Dax both jumped the goat again. Yanking with the knife, she felt a hot wash of liquid over her hand, and then the animal was going limp, a low, deep, pathetic sound escaping its mouth.

Raven's eyes widened in alarm as a great ripping sensation, accompanied by a terrible pain, forced her down to the snow with the goat. Feeling briefly, she pulled its horn from her side, horrified by the blood gathered upon it. Black crowding in on her vision, she tried desperately to get a breath. But she just couldn't. The thing had knocked her air from her and ripped up her side, and she couldn't get enough air in. She knew, somewhere, distantly out in the ether, that she was panicking and that was not helping, but she couldn't help it.

Falling back, one hand pressing as hard as she could against where it hurt the most, Raven saw the blood spreading into the snow, from herself or her prey she did not know. Eyes widening, she kicked away, distantly aware that the carcass would attract predators and that she was going to lose consciousness imminently if she could not get her breathing under control. But it was too much. Losing the battle she was waging against falling completely into panic, she lashed out, kicking at the dead goat. The air finally wouldn't come even in the think trickle it was before, and the blackness came leaping back, swallowing her vision in a warm embrace of emptiness.

* * *

Colors swam into each other - red, purple, blue, greens, yellows - always with black as the backdrop. She floated, supported on a warm bed of nothingness. She couldn't feel her arms or legs, but it didn't concern her. She merely floated, enjoying the cozy feeling of being cradled, not a care in the world.

Occasionally, though, a sound came to her, fading in and out, barely understood. A high-pitched whining did the most to jolt her into caring, into awareness. A great pain seared her side, and when she opened her eyes, she saw she was surrounded by white. Everything was cold, and she couldn't feel her toes. Turning her head, she saw Dax curled on her stomach, whining and trembling. Reena was nowhere to be seen. Distantly, somewhere in the back of her head, Raven was aware that it was really a bad thing that she could not feel Dax's weight.

But it was unimportant. Closing her eyes, she saw the colors again, the black backdrop, and smiling, she settled in to the warm embrace. She drifted, uncaring, for an unknown time, sounds not bothering her again.

Until a jolt of pain woke her once more. Opening her eyes, Raven saw that darkness was falling. Or maybe it was morning again? It was either dusk or dawn, depending on the angle of the sun, and the smell of the air, and… she couldn't quite concentrate. Looking around, she dully noticed Dax on his feet, snarling. Another dog was circling him… three, in fact, all looking similar to each other - shaggy grey fur, white paws, dark, darting eyes. The dogs snarled right back at Dax, viciously baring teeth as white as the snow.

Raven was confused. What was going on? She tried to call out to Dax, to the other dogs' owners, but breathing deeply enough to speak only awakened a great burning along her ribs. She coughed, and the burning flashed to white-hot pain that threatened to overtake her. The snarling grew, and suddenly one of the dogs was leaping at Dax.

_Dear Lord, they're not dogs. They're wolves!_

Raven could not feel her feet. Her fingers protested movement so much that she could not make a fist. The snow all around her was stained red with the blood of her prey and the blood of her own body. She had to save Dax. She had to do _something_!

Pushing her hands into the snow on either side of her, Raven sat up, ignoring the burning pain along her right side. Her feet just wouldn't cooperate, though, and instead of standing, she stumbled to her right, landing with her face in the snow.

The biting cold sapped what little strength she had, and it was with a quiet, distant panic that the warm black seeped into her vision once more. Sure, strong fingers lifted her, cradling her in a warm embrace. A gentle, masculine, familiar voice assured her all would be alright. Her panic fled. She knew everything would be alright. It was Walter. He always made sure everything was alright.

A nearly-silent voice responded just as she slipped into unconsciousness: _What if it is not real?_

* * *

_A/N: So this chapter took a while to get right. It was kind of like writing through molasses. But Raven Sinead was awesome and helped me map out what I wanted to happen and gave my muse a nudge. So... sorry for the cliffhanger. But hopefully you like this weirdly difficult chapter. :)_


	11. Chapter 11

Stabbing pains kept interrupting the warm, gentle caress she was experiencing. A hand circled her breast, another stroking between her legs, a mouth kissing down from her breasts to her ribs before teeth bared. The teeth bit, taking a great chunk of flesh out of her. She screamed, weakly pushing Diana off of her.

"Raven, you must stop!" the familiar voice shouted, taking her wrists and holding them down. The princess struggled weakly as the huntress leaned over, baring her teeth once more and biting painfully into her right breast.

Raven screamed again, struggling feebly against Diana. Diana's hot caress was horrifically delightful, filling Raven with lust even as she pulled great chunks of flesh from Raven's ribs.

"Hypothermia has set in," the princess heard a voice say, deep and melodic. Opening her eyes, Raven saw a great beast, purple and green in color, looming before her. Terrified, she tried to push away, but Diana continued to hold her down, gnawing on her flesh as though she were some sort of pastry. "She is hallucinating. If she wakes in the morning with any cogency, then she will make it. But we will then have to stave off infection."

"I know what to do." Diana's voice swam above her. The black was crowding her vision again. Raven was almost desperate to escape to it. She sighed, nuzzling into the warmth on her left. It was not like normal, though – usually the warmth enveloped her, cradling her bodily into oblivion. But this… this was concentrated on her left side, and made her strangely aware of her skin.

The black did finally take her away, lifting her up and bearing her on a sea of warm water.

* * *

Raven woke slowly. The first thing she noticed was the light through the window. The second thing she noticed was that she had a very naked body pressed against her own very naked body.

"What in Hell?"

Her voice sounded like she'd spent her entire life smoking a pipe and experiencing hacking coughs. And her throat was a bit sore, though not as sore as she sounded.

The warm body shifted, allowing Raven to see who was pressed so intimately into her left side.

"Diana?!"

The huntress's eyes opened at her name, and she was immediately on her knees.

"You are awake! How do you feel?"

Raven didn't know how to respond. She felt cold without Diana pressed into her. The sight of Diana completely and unselfconsciously naked, knelt in front of her with concern etched clearly on her face, made it so she could focus on nothing else.

Until she tried to move. "Ow!" She reached for her right side, which now throbbed after a great searing sensation ripped all along her entire right side. "What the Hell?" she repeated.

Diana knelt over her as she lay back. Raven's eyes lingered far too long on her freely-swinging breasts. "What do you remember?" the huntress asked.

Raven tore her eyes from the naked body in front of her, instead focusing on the woman's face. "What? What happened?"

"I'd like to know that, too, Raven," Diana said seriously, her eyebrows knit together as she pulled bandaging away from Raven's ribs. Raven looked down to see that her entire right side, including her breast, was covered in healing poultices. She saw the raw edge of torn flesh, a wound directly to the underside of her breast. "You should not look, Raven. It is… difficult to stomach."

"If you can, I can," Raven said defiantly.

Diana paused, dark eyes staring deep into Raven's. Her hand alighted upon the princess's cheek, and then before Raven knew what was happening, Diana was kissing her. It was light, not the heated, passionate kisses they had shared before. And it was over before Raven could rally herself to respond in any way.

"You beautifully stubborn woman," Diana breathed, before going right back to her task.

"What… what was that?" Raven was so confused. Weren't they not a _thing_?

"This looks good," Diana said, completely ignoring Raven's question. "The redness has gone down. The infection is draining into the poultices like the healer wanted. Now I just need to wash it again." Her eyes darted back to Raven's. "It will not feel pleasant."

"Wait! I don't even know what's going on!" Raven was _angry_. Here she was, injured, confused, Diana naked and kissing her after she had made it _clear_ she didn't want the princess… What had even happened to make the princess hurt so?

Diana sat back on her knees. "Reena came to the camp, Raven. Without her hunter. They all knew immediately something was wrong, and Walter set out after her. She led him to you. You were suffering from hypothermia, cold to the touch, according to him. Dax was protecting you from wolves who had come for the kill you had made. Why on Earth you decided to take on a mountain goat on your own, with no help, I'll never know. Even _you_ aren't strong enough to carry one of those."

The story jolted Raven's memory, and she supplied the rest of the story for Diana. "I hadn't had any luck. Then I saw it from afar, and all I could think was that I'd be able to bring back a great deal of _food, _so I got close enough to shoot it. It _looked_ about the size of a deer. But I must have missed my intended target, because it fell into the snow but was still alive. It attacked. I got it across the throat with my knife, but it had rammed me with those wicked horns. It must have gotten me…" She paused, her eyes focusing back on Diana's face. "There was so much blood, Diana. I woke up, and I was so cold. I couldn't feel my feet…" Furrowing her brows, she wiggled her toes, her face immediately lighting up. "But I can feel them now!"

Diana smiled, but still she had a look of deep concern on her face. "I came back from my own hunt to Walter taking you into the sick wagon. I… I was so frightened, Raven… you were so cold, I worried even my body heat would not be enough." Here, Diana's voice cracked, and Raven immediately reached for her, only to wince and curse once more at the pain in her side. Diana pushed her back to be lying down, pulling more away from the injury along her side.

"I am confused, Diana," Raven finally said. "You tell me you cannot be with me, and yet I wake up to find you naked – and you are _still_ naked. You kiss me, are worried about me… I thought you did not care for me?"

Diana merely smiled sadly, reaching for the princess's cheek once more. "You almost dying had an interesting way of putting things into perspective."

Raven did not know what to say. She merely stared, no longer distracted by the sight of Diana's naked body. She memorized those features – the straight nose, the dark, brooding eyes, her dark skin still covered in freckles – burning them to her memory. This was her first love. She could not forget her, even if she never saw her again after this winter.

In that moment, all of her anger melted away. "Come here, Diana," she said softly, her hoarse voice reaching a deep timbre it normally never could. Diana furrowed her brows, but obeyed, melting into Raven's outstretched – left – arm. Raven pulled the huntress into her side, turning her head so she could breathe deeply of the woman's hair, luxuriating in the feel of her skin.

"Diana, I love you. I cannot stop loving you, even if we are to be parted. I… I understand why I cannot ask you to leave your people. I know now that I didn't even know what I was asking of you. But if I am to be here for many more weeks, loving you whether or not we are together; and if you feel the same… then can we be together while we're together?" She sighed, shaking her head. "I am making no sense."

"Shh," Diana said, her hand gripping Raven's chin and turning them to face each other. "You are making a great deal of sense, Raven. I… I cannot leave my people. Not now. We are just barely surviving this winter. I am still mourning my parents. Sabine truly has no one but myself. But… that does not mean I cannot _ever_ leave my people, Raven. My people will go to war with you, and I will be by your side then. And in the meantime… I think I would rather die than be kept from you one more day, Raven. I am sorry I hurt you so. I could not stop worrying about things that are not yet even assured to happen."

Raven smiled. Then she did what she had truly wanted to do for a week now, and kissed her lover deeply. She relished her taste, her feel, their soft skin sliding against each other. A hot coil gathered in her belly very quickly, but one small move of her right arm crushed it in its tracks.

"Goddammit!" Raven cried in frustration. Diana merely chuckled, pushing away despite Raven's whimpered protest.

"You are a mighty warrior, but even you cannot make love with a hole in your side. Let me clean it, and then you can sleep." A strange look came over her face. "Wait… can you not visit your butler like you did when we first met?"

Raven's eyes widened in shock and embarrassment. "I didn't even think of that!" Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the seal of the Sanctuary. But the power wouldn't come. She was too injured. And fading rapidly. "I... I cannot. I don't have the energy."

"It is alright," Diana crooned, cupping Raven's cheek briefly. "I will clean it, and we will get you more rest. Surely you'll have more energy after sleep."

Raven smiled, nodding even as sleep threatened to overtake her. She woke back up for the cleaning of her wounds – Diana was right, it felt far from pleasant – but fell asleep quickly once fresh, dry bandages were pressed into her side.

The last thing she was aware of was Diana once more lying next to her, pressing a kiss to her left breast before settling in to sleep herself.


	12. Chapter 12

_Eight Months Later_

Raven's heart pounded in her chest, threatening to make its great escape. She ran her hand through her now-short hair, fingering the scar she got when the Crawler's minions had speared her through the neck - thank God for healing potions. Taking a deep breath, she dismounted from her horse, leading it through the gates to the Dweller's summer settlement.

She was more nervous than she'd ever been in her life.

As she walked, Walter leading his horse behind her, Ben and Page behind him, she tried to steady the shaking of her hands. She had gone through the fires of Hell and damnation in order to get here, and now she wasn't sure how she'd be received. What if Diana had moved on? Found another to love in Raven's absence? What if she walked up and Diana was heavy with child, a husband on her arm? What if she had died out on a hunt?

The last question made her heart stop for a moment, forcing Raven to halt.

"Pup? Something wrong?" Walter asked, coming up next to her.

She looked up into the big man's blue eyes. "I… What if… Balls."

He threw back his head and laughed loudly. She smiled, happy to see him able to laugh so after his harrowing experience across the sea in Aurora. But still her heart beat hard against her ribs, hard enough to hurt, hard enough to pound in her throat and her lungs, pouring molten dread into her stomach and ice into her limbs, making them not want to move.

"Raven, this girl _loves_ you," he said, loudly enough for Ben and Page both to hear.

"Girl? Love? Let me clean out my ears before you continue, Walter," Ben called, shoving a pinky into his ear dramatically.

"Ben, I will personally gut you if you continue down that path," Raven warned, glaring daggers in his direction. He had long learned that his roguish smile and devilish good looks caught him very little favor with the princess, and backed away, still grinning but knowing better than to press.

Walter's hand on her shoulder brought her attention back to him. "Raven. It will be fine. And then we likely won't see you for an entire day before you reemerge, your hair all messy and the biggest grin we've ever seen on your lips."

Her face flushed in embarrassment, and he laughed again before taking her horse's reins from her and shoving her ahead of him, kicking her in the rump for good measure.

Laughing as she slowed to a walk once more, Dax happily walking at her side, she began reflecting on all that had brought her here. Her time with the Dwellers had ended cheerfully. She had spent weeks holed up with Diana in her and Walter's wagon, the big man quietly bunking down with a widow he'd gotten rather close to. She and the huntress had spent the time learning each other inside and out, talking and laughing and making love as much as they possibly could.

It was with tears in her eyes that she left the camp come the Spring Thaw, but it was also with Diana's promise to wait for her, sealed upon her lips with a long, lingering kiss. Raven had given a similar promise, and kept it all this time, even when the very attractive Page had made an advance on her not weeks before.

She had travelled to Mourningwood and fought zombies – and Ben Finn's advances. She had gone back to Bowerstone and watched Major Swift executed on her brother's orders. She had gone to the land of Aurora, surviving the sea, the Crawler, and then the desert clawing at her throat with thirst and at her mind with visions.

Now she was here, gathering her army, ready to take on her brother. And all of it, she had done for this moment, so she could have Diana back by her side.

And she was _terrified_.

A dog's barking pulled her from her thoughts, and Raven looked up to see a very familiar hunting dog - a scrappy little terrier - running for her. Smiling and kneeling down, she caught Reena, who came flying at her with more power than such a little dog ought to hold. She laughed as the dog covered her face in kisses before jumping down and tackling Dax in a similar manner. They played for a moment, wrestling on the grass before a deliciously – and chillingly – familiar voice called for the dog.

"Reena! Where did you run off to?!" The voice got quieter as its owner spoke to herself or someone near her. "It is entirely unlike her to go running off…"

Raven stood once more as the figure came into view through the trees and wagons strewn about.

"Raven…"

It was Diana, wearing only light woolen trousers and a man's tunic under a leather vest – far less clothing than the last time Raven spent any time with her. Well, no, that was a lie. The last time they'd spent any length of time together, they'd been entirely naked…

Diana dropped her things, taking off at a run. She was not very far from Raven, maybe all of fifteen feet, but a timeless moment descended, the huntress suspended bounding above the ground. Raven would forever remember this moment, when all her fears and nervousness melted away, assured just by this action that Diana had held her promise just as Raven had. Diana's long black hair, adorned with beads and feathers and a few braids bound in leather, suspended behind her in the air she created was just gorgeous, and Raven couldn't wait to bury her face in it and take a deep breath. She longed to surround herself in her lover's scent, but she could be content in this moment forever if need be, knowing that she would be able to, and that all was right in her world.

In this single moment, everything was as it should be.

* * *

**The End**

* * *

_A/N: So. Here's the end. There's so much more one could write. Will Raven marry someone else and have children with him? What is Diana's life going to be like leaving her people? Will she be Raven's mistress, or will Raven somehow fix things so she can marry Diana and they can have children... somehow? What about how Raven's going to handle all of the decisions she has to make? Will she take her brother's place as tyrant or be the angel who let's everyone die? Or do like I did in-game and actually make the required 7 or 8 million gold by just owning and renovating all the property in Albion and then donating it to the treasury? _

_I dunno. It's open to whatever you like. The story I wanted to tell was this little glimpse of winter, and the princess coming to admire and then falling in love with this stoic "nobody." And I feel like I did alright. It's not Literature. But what fanfiction is, really? I hope you like it, and I hope you liked this ending. This timeless moment in which all worry is gone, and in which everything is going to be okay._


End file.
